


Three worlds, Two Hogwarts, One Ring

by Pyxie_Dust



Series: The Werewolf's Daughter [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-05-24 20:31:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 96,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6165856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pyxie_Dust/pseuds/Pyxie_Dust
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Second part of The Werewolf's Daughter series. I'm going to update this whenever I finish my chapters, I am too damn impatient to focus on a deadline of something I actually like doing. Pyxis is going to Hogwarts, where she's going to learn not only about magic, but loyalty, friendship, maybe a little bit of love. However, while peaceful times reign high over this world, in others, there are battles brewing, and through a certain ring, Pyxis is thrown into the thick of it. Follow along as this little girl tries tell the difference between her home and the land beyond. How she learns the difference of being scared, and being afraid. And most importantly, how death isn't something to be afraid of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Snakes and Badgers

To say Pyxis Lupin was nervous was an understatement. The poor girl couldn’t have been more terrified if Voldemort himself stepped through those great oaken doors. She fiddled with her robes, her hair, the snitch in her pocket. Wondering what would happen if she ran back to the boats and tried to get on the train to go home. She turned around and looked down the path they had come. It wasn’t that steep, and the game keeper Hagrid couldn’t have taken the boats back yet; surely there were others that wanted to return home as well. 

But just as she took her first step away from the Great Hall, a hand grabbed her wrist. She looked to find Harry smirking at her, “You scared?” She nodded. “You? The girl who took on a boy twice her size because he called me a freak when we first met him.” Pyxis snorted, “That was different,” she’d take on Dudley Dursley a thousand times over if it got her out of the sorting ceremony. There was a chuckle to Harry’s right, Draco tried to cover it up with a cough and she glared at him, saying, “What?! I get scared too, prat.” Draco rolled his eyes, “Pyxis its just the sorting ceremony. The beginning. Its only going to get worse from here. I mean… if this is how you’re going to act for the sorting. I can only imagine what you’ll be like when we get to actual magic, you must be awful.” 

Harry elbowed Draco in the side, making the other boy flinch in pain, “OW!” Harry motioned to Pyxis, how she was visibly shaking, her dark skin taking an ashy color. Draco grimaced, “Sorry Pyx. I was only joking. See, hahaha…” It didn’t help. 

Pyxis’s hands were shaking like crazy, and she worried her bottom lip to the point of drawing blood. Harry and Draco were unsure of what to do. Normally the situation was reversed, where they were panicked and she calmed them down. Stuffing her hand in her pocket, Pyxis gripped both the snitch and the ring, clinging to the familiar objects to help soothe her nerves. 'Its alright', she thells herself, 'I’m not alone. I’ve got these two idiots to look after, I can’t have a nervous breakdown.' Letting out a breath, she relaxed, “Sorry. I guess I let my mind run away from me.” The boys sigh in relief, “Yeah you did. You sure you’re ok now?” Pyxis smiled, “Yeah Harry. I’m fine.” 

The doors opened wide and a woman in long black robes and square spectacles stepped out, “Hello first years. The welcome feast will commence soon, but before we begin you will be sorted into your houses. Your house will be your family for your time here at Hogwarts, so any actions you take will reflect on it. Now follow me.” Her robes swish in a flurry of fabric as she turns around, and the first years trail after her.

They line up in two rows just behind the four long tables of the hall. The enchanted ceiling sparkles with hundreds of stars, the candles floating just a few feet below. Across the hall is the Head table, where the Professors and Headmaster all eye the first years critically.

Sitting just below the Head table is an old hat with multicolored patches and a fraying brim. Pyxis turned to the boys with raised eyebrows, but they only shrug in response. She wonders what a hat is doing in the hall, when it starts to sing:

Welcome one, Welcome all who step in these hallowed halls  
Coming here to learn tricks of trade  
Where many branches of magic have come to lay.  
Whilst Magic is learned by one and all  
The way you learn it, is your own call.

Are you Brave and headstrong.  
Willing to take on anything, even if you may go wrong.  
Flashing colors of red and gold  
It will be Gryffindor’s sights you will behold.

If Creative and Clever is your flow,  
Always reading and learning the next step to know.  
With colors of Bronze and Blue,  
Ravenclaw will be the place for you.

Cunning and Resourceful might be your talent.  
Doing whatever they must with great intent.  
Shining colors of Silver and Green  
Might be Slytherin where your scales shine

These last folk are kind and loyal to the bone  
Patience and acceptance are widely known.  
Warm colors Yellow and Black  
Perhaps Hufflepuff is where you sort your stack.

Welcome one, Welcome all who step in these hallowed halls  
Coming here to learn tricks of trade  
So step up and don’t be shy  
Place the old Sorting Hat on your head and give me a try.

The students in the hall clap and Professor McGonagall unrolls a long piece of parchment, “Come up to the hat when you are called.” Adjusting her spectacles she calls out, “Abbot, Hannah,” and the sorting begins. First years are called up one by one, squeezing their way past one another and make their way up to the stool. Some are sorted immediately, the hat screeching out one of the four house names the moment it touches their heads. Others take a little time, Pyxis watches as their hands clench and they fiddle with their robes. Guess she isn’t the nervous one.  
After what seemed like an eternity she hears the name, “Lupin, Pyxis!” Her heart nearly stops in her chest. Its her turn now. Her turn to be sorted. Taking a deep breath she walks up the aisle. Students sitting to her left and right give her encouraging smiles, whispers echo throughout the hall, she thinks she hears someone betting that she’ll go to Gryffindor. When Pyxis finally reaches the stool, Professor McGonagall lifts the hat and places it on her head. The brim falls over her eyes, her hands gripping the stool like a vice, and a bead of sweat drips down her back. 

'Another wolf cub', whispers the hat, 'I wonder if you’re anything like your father.'

Pyxis feels a trickle of fear trail down her spine, 'my father was a Gryffindor.'

The hat whispered once more, 'Oh no child. You’re father didn’t even attend school. Too wild for any proper education if Dumbledore is to be believed.' 

Her blood ran cold, 'You’re talking about Greyback… He’s not my father.'

The hat chuckled,' No, you’re are right about that… at least not the kind of Father you’re thinking of. He is the creature that sired you. Nothing more. Your real parents have made you into quite an interesting young girl though.'

She shifted on the stool nervously, 'I hope thats a good thing.'

'Why young wolf, it is a very good thing indeed. Quite cunning when you want to be, reckless and brave when it is needed, and your mind is nothing to pass you by. However, there is something that drives you to be all these things.' 

'You are kind.'

Pyxis felt herself relax and the hat smiled, 'I see you now know where you’ll go?'

She nodded, and the hat murmured, 'Very well young one', “HUFFLEPUFF!!!” The table to her right cheered, people thumping the table and wolf-whistling loudly. Pyxis smiled with relief and made her way over, sitting down and greeting everyone with friendly smiles and handshakes. She watched the other first years being sorted and noticed that two more went to Hufflepuff, three to Gryffindor, one to Ravenclaw, and two to Slytherin. 

When it was Draco’s turn to go up, she smiled and threw him a thumbs up. He returned it with a strut and a haughty smile, he already knew where he was going. The moment the Hat hovered over his head it screeched out, “SLYTHERIN!” The table next to Pyxis cheered appreciatively, several of them grinning like mad and waving him over. She smiled warmly at her cousin and he shot her a wink before sitting down. 

Harry was one of the last people to be called up for the sorting, with only two boys behind him. Pyxis watched as he made his way up the aisle and sat on the stool. He glanced her way and she saw the nervous flicker in his eyes; before the brim covered his face, she smiled, mouthing, 'Its going to be ok.' 

Everyone seemed to hold their breath as he sat there. She could hear people whispering and increasing their bets on where the son of James and Lily Potter would be sorted. A few galleons exchanged hands and Pyxis bit her lip, she really hoped whoever was betting against didn’t bet too much of their money away. 

After about ten minutes of waiting, the sorting hat opened its brim wide. “SLYTHERIN!”Screeching so loudly that those closest to it were forced to clamp their hands over their ears. Draco shot up out of his seat and whooped loudly, throwing his fist in the air. Pyxis cheered and clapped along with him, happy that those two wouldn’t be separated, it’d be a bit strange otherwise. Harry smiled and made his way over to the Slytherin table, people around him were cheering and grumbling. Money exchanged hands and someone said, “I can’t believe I lost fifty Galleons.” 

The last two were sorted, one to Slytherin, the other to Gryffindor. Headmaster Dumbledore welcomed them all, gave a few announcements about classes and schedules before sitting down and letting the feast commence. The plates were filled to the brim with breads, chips, and meat dishes, along with buckets and gallons of Pumpkin Juice. Pyxis feels her mouth water and she reaches out to fill her plate, grabbing a leg of chicken here, a roll of bread there. She can only imagine how good this will all taste. 

She reaches for a gravy boat, when another hand knocks into hers. A pudgy boy with brown hair and eyes blushes and pulls his hand away, “Sorry. You go first.” She eyes the gravy boat, its closer to him and she shakes her head, “No its in front of you. You can have it first, I shouldn’t have reached across.” The boy seemed to hesitate, but took the gravy boat and poured a little over his roast before handing it to her. “Thanks.” She shrugged, “No problem.” As she pours the gravy over her biscuit she hears the other say, “I’m Neville by the way. Neville Longbottom.” 

Pyxis puts the boat down and smiles at the other boy, “I’m Pyxis Lupin. Nice to meet you.” They shake hands and dig into their food, starting up a conversation between bites. 

~*~

With the feast over, Pyxis followed the Prefects down towards the kitchens so they can reach their dorms. Arriving in front of a row of barrels, the Prefect taps their wand to the beat of Hel-ga Hu-ffle-puff before the barrel front opens and they crawl inside. Turning to Neville with raised eyebrows she asks why the lock is so simple, her friend shrugs and says, “They say there’s a curse to keep non-hufflepuffs out. One wizard tried to test it for research and he said it was, ‘Too Ghastly to Describe’.” Pyxis felt her nerves flutter in her stomach. Hopefully the Curse wouldn’t activate on account of her own.

She crawled through the wooden barrel, finding it much roomier than she thought. A few tendrils of magic latch onto her, they run through her veins and recognize the judgement of the Sorting Hat before vanishing back into the barrel. When Pyxis comes out the other side, she finds the seemingly coziest common room she’s ever laid eyes on. It was a large round shape, with flowers and vines hanging from floating pots, bean bags and sofa’s littered every open space. In the center of the room was a large brazier throwing up flames showing badgers and flowers.

The older students smile warmly and greet her when she comes in, telling her if she ever needed anything, to just ask. Pyxis feels the nerves die down in her stomach, this place feels like home. No expectations, no judgement, everyone seemed to get along well; from what she could see at least. She went up to the person closest to her she asked where she would find the dormitories, “Go over to the book case on the right and run a finger down the spine of the biography of Helga Hufflepuff. A ladder will lead up to your dorms.” 

Doing as she was told, she enters the dorm and finds that her roommates have already moved in. Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones were both lounging on their beds, Hannah browsing through a gardening magazine and Susan trying to put her things away. They wave as Pyxis made her way inside, and she waved back. Her suitcase is next to the bed closest to the window, when she looks out, she sees the quidditch pitch and a bit of the Forbidden Forest.

There’s a rattle and Nashira hoots impatiently from her cage on the bed, “Sorry girl, guess you want out after that long ride huh?” The elf owl hoots indignantly, ruffling her feathers to show her frustration. Unlocking the cage, Pyxis rests her owl on her arm before opening the window and letting her fly out. The little bird looped around in front of the window for a little while before taking off into the night sky. “Does your owl know to come back?” Pyxis turned to see Susan looking worriedly over at her, “Yeah. If she doesn’t though, she’ll probably be with my dads. We don’t live too far away, so she should recognize the area.” Appeased, Susan goes back to her sorting. 

Pyxis unpacked a few of her things of her own and placed them in the night stand next to her bed. Taking extra care as she placed the snitch and ring in the topmost drawer, locking it with a basic charm. As she checked to make sure that all her clothes were there, she realized that something was absent from her things. Something extremely important. She ransacked her suitcase, her book bag, even the nightstand, thinking she somehow put it in there without noticing. 

But it remained unfound. Pyxis gripped the stray curl that dangled in front of her face, tugging on it in hopes of remembering where she had put it. Her roommates were startled by the sudden change and asked what she was looking for. She bit her lip, unsure if they would make fun of her if she told them. Instead she only smiled, saying, “Its nothing. I’m sure it’ll turn up in the morning.” The other two nodded and let her be. 

There was a tapping sound, and Pyxis turned back to the window. Nashira was back, carrying the string to a brown package in her talons. Pyxis opened the window quickly and let her owl in, she rested on top of the cage after setting the package down on the bed. Hannah raised an eyebrow at it, “its only the first night and you’re already getting mail?” Pyxis shrugged and unwrapped it, when the paper came undone she found her stuffed elephant, Pooky, laying there. A note was stuck to one of its paws, written in curvy script were the words: Did you pack Everything? Sticking her tongue out at the note she fed Nashira an owl treat and let her out again. She pulled her elephant close and lay down on the bed, glad that she found what she was looking for.

~*~

The first few weeks at Hogwarts were pretty tame considering her cousin and god brother had both been sorted into Slytherin. Her first letter back home ended with, 'So far all things have been quiet. No pranks, no jokes, not even sarcasm… Father, Dad, I think they’re planning something huge.' But the weeks went by without hide or hair of a potential prank from either of them. So Pyxis relaxed, thinking that maybe, just maybe, they’ll behave until christmas.

But of course, it was all too good to be true. 

It happened on their fourth week into the term, in potions class. Harry and Draco walk in side by side with smug grins on their faces. Pyxis is pulling her book out from her bag when she sees them walk in and she freezes. Oh no, she knows that look, and it never, ever, bodes well. Panicked she looks at Professor Snape, his back is turned at the moment as he goes over the notes he’s written on the board for the lesson. Biting her lip, she thinks that maybe if she complained she felt sick he’d let her go back to her dorm. That’s a stupid idea. Even if she really was sick, Professor Snape has some kind of grudge against her parents, and he’d done a lot to let her that he didn’t like her.

She normally ignored it, the jibes at her “abhorrent” potions and the “fumbling” way she prepared them normally flew over her head. But right now, she could really use one of those to pretend to have a break down and flee the classroom, but she couldn’t leave Neville to his fate with the boys. In fact, she couldn’t leave anyone. All the Hufflepuff’s, and the Slytherins, were blissfully ignorant to the conniving forces of her cousin and god brother. She groaned internally and put on a brave face, she’d take this head on, and try to contain the damage as much as possible. 

Professor Snape whipped around. Glaring at the students with beady black eyes he said, “Turn to page 254, we will be going over how to brew a simple boils cure, and I suggest you pay very. close. attention.” He slaps Pyxis’s desk with a ruler to get her to turn around, “Miss Lupin, tell me, what ingredient in the potion is both the most effective and the most potent.” She looks back at him calmly, “Aloe Vera Professor. Though its mainly for treating sunburns and bug bites. The extract has many exfoliating properties that make the boil cure potent.” 

Snape sneered down at her, “Considering your own… condition. Its a wonder how you seem to know that.” Without thinking, Pyxis slapped a hand over the mark on her shoulder, but instead of feeling skin, she feels the smooth fabric of her scarf. Snape smirked, “Startled you have I? Perhaps that will teach you not to focus your attention elsewhere in my class.” He turned back to the front and continued with the lesson. 

Pyxis can feel her cheeks turning pink and lowered her hand. She took several precautions to make sure no one could see the mark, but all the professors knew she had it. Including Professor Snape, he was the one who gave her the wolfsbane potion after all, and he was the only one who gave her a hard time about it. Feeling a nudge to her side, Pyxis turns to Neville, “Professor Snape said we could get our ingredients now.” She nodded and makes her way to the supplies cupboard, pulling out the ingredients they would need for the potion.

Once she was back at her desk, she asked Neville whether he wanted to chop or stir, “I’m good with either. Potions isn’t my best subject.” She nodded, “Ok, you can stir then, I’ll dice the ingredients.” He nodded and they got to work.

~*~

About halfway through making the potion, Pyxis feels something hit her back. After making sure that Neville had what he needed for the next step, she turned around. Draco was smirking at her and raised an eyebrow at her, confused she mouthed, “What?” But Draco only shook his head. Pyxis’s brow furrowed, worried that Draco might’ve done something, when someone called out, “Professor! The Supply Cupboard!”

Half the class turned to see the supply cupboard overflowing with huge amounts of blue and pink bubbles. Snape shouted at the lot of them, “Get Out!” and proceeded to try and contain the growing mass of foam. The students abandoned their potions and ran full speed to the door. When they were in the clear, they whispered amongst one another, wondering what could’ve happened in the cupboard while they were brewing. The noise of their chatter alerted the nearby classrooms of their whereabouts. Professor Vector approached the group and placed a hand on her hips, “Now what’s going on out here. You all should be in class.” Susan Bones was the one who answered, “We were Professor! Only the supply cupboard started to foam and Professor Snape yelled at us to leave.” 

Professor Vector peered inside the potions classroom, the foam had grown now and was beginning to seep onto the nearby work tables. While Professor Snape was nowhere to be found, “Very well then. You might as well hide out in my classroom until Professor Snape and I get this sorted.”She pointed to the class down the hall and a Gryffindor Prefect stepped out, beckoning the first years to come inside, while Professor Vector went into the potions lab. 

Pyxis and Neville took a seat near the back and waited for the other students to file in. Pyxis fiddled with her robe, worried about what would happen if the mess in the potions lab wasn’t cleaned up soon. People around her were making random guesses as to who set off the foam, each taking wild guesses about who would dare mess with Snape. But she could care less, mainly because she could see the perpetrators from where she sat, leaning against the window of the Arithmancy classroom with arms folded and smug grins. Harry caught Pyxis’s eye and he winked. The prat actually winked at her. She didn’t know what to feel more of right now, frustration or worry; both Professor Snape and Professor Vector were going to want to know what happened to the cupboard. And knowing Snape he wouldn’t stop until he found out who did it, he might even drag both houses out of the running for the House Cup. 

Susan and Hannah both came over to where she and Neville were sitting and the four of them started to talk. “What do you think the Professors are going to do when they get back.” “What if they don’t come back out, there’s a lot of toxic ingredients in there.” “Should we make a rescue team?” “But its Snape, he can get out of any Potions mess right?” “We should still be prepared.” Pyxis nodded at Susan, maybe they should form a rescue party, or at the very least have some of the older students help in making sure the Professors were alright.

Before they could start asking though, Professor Vector walked back into the classroom. “I need all of Professor Snape’s students to return to the potions lab. We’ve managed to clean up the foam and bubbles, but Professor Snape wishes for you to head back immediately.” The first years got up and did as they were told, but when Pyxis passed Professor Vector, she thought she saw the corners of her lips twitch. 

~*~

The dungeon was indeed void of the bubbly mess. However, Professor Snape was not. He was covered from head to toe in the foamy blue and pink bubbles, which clung to every bare surface on his person. From his hair to his shoes, there were bubbles large and small. Several students couldn’t help but laughing at the ridiculous state of their Professor, some laughing so hard that they needed help just standing up. Snape however was not amused and silenced the offending students by taking away ten points from both houses.

Snape’s face was deep red color, beady black eyes like knives, a vein on his forehead was pulsing so hard it stuck out against his face. All the Hufflepuffs in the room shrunk away from him, terrified of what he might do. The Slytherins seemed a little unnerved, but kept a calm façade anyway. Snape stepped up to the front desks, the bubbles moving with him in tandem, “If the perpetrator of this ruckus does not step forward, I will remove fifty points from your houses, if after that they still do not come forward, another fifty will be removed, and will continue for the remainder of the class period. If at the end of that time no one has stepped forward, then expect yourselves to spend the next three months in detention with the loss of four hundred points each.” 

Pyxis paled, this couldn’t be happening. Can they even lose that many points in one go? No one stepped forward, and when she turned to the boys, both were distracting themselves with their potion. “Fifty points from Hufflepuff and Thirty from Slytherin.” The Slytherins grew angry at that, but didn’t dare speak out against their head of house. 

Another ten minutes went by and Snape said, “Fifty points from Hufflepuff and Forty from Slytherin.” 

The students started to murmur to one another, begging someone to just go up and confess. Pyxis turned to the boys and she hissed, “For the love of Helga, please just tell him you did it.” Draco shook his head, whispering, “He deserves it for sniping at you everyday.” She groaned, “You did this because he was bugging me?!” Harry shook his head and gave his best “I’m Innocent as a lamb” look, “Of course not we would never do such a thing, but No One messes with our cousin.” Pyxis tugged on her braid, Harry and Draco always meant well, but sometimes their antics had more consequences than benefits. 

Snape spoke once more, “Sixty points from Hufflepuff, Fifty from Slytherin.” She felt her stomach drop out from her, one hundred and sixty points lost, they were out of the running for the cup now, they have nothing left to lose. Both boys continued to monitor their potion, they could probably get points back faster than the Hufflepuffs could considering they were in favor with Snape. Clenching her hands into fists Pyxis faced Snape and stood up, “I did it.” 

The room went deadly silent. Several of her fellow Hufflepuffs went slack-jawed, thinking, ‘How? How could she do this. She’s never played any pranks before, was it revenge?’ The Slytherins eyed Pyxis suspiciously, ‘There’s no way she could’ve done it, they thought’, ‘she’s too good. Practically the poster girl for goodness.’ Only a select few knew why she had stood up. Neville was proud of his friend, but he was afraid for her as well; Susan and Hannah glared at the boys, as if saying, ‘look! Look what you’re forcing her to do.’ Draco and Harry were gobsmacked, they hadn’t expected Pyxis to take the blame. They thought they’d get away with it this time.

Snape glared daggers at Pyxis, but she held her head high. His voice was grated and angry, “What a surprise. Who knew that the daughter of Hogwarts most notorious pranksters would attempt to make a name for herself. It’s to be expected though, your parents were always the bottom of the barrel sort.” The sarcastic drawl made the insult sting twice as much, but Pyxis didn’t flinch. “At least you own up to your actions. The rest of you are dismissed, Ms. Lupin, stay.” The other students shuffled out, her friends giving her sympathetic looks, while Draco and Harry had to be dragged from their desks, both still shell shocked from her admission.

When everyone had left, Snape ushered her over to the supply cupboard. Gesturing to a few unstoppered vials, he asked, “Do you know what was in here Ms. Lupin.” Taking a whiff of one of the bottles she said, “Ginger, professor.” Snape nodded, “Now, do you know what it takes to cause Ginger to ferment to such a degree?” Pyxis was a little confused with his line of questioning, but thought for a few moments and said, “Large quantities of sugar and water sir.” Snape moved to another set of jars, took one down from the top shelf, and showed it to her, “And do you know what this is Ms. Lupin?” 

Taking an instinctive step back, Pyxis stared at the vial with fearful eyes. Dried, purple, flowers lay inside, the vial itself stoppered firmly and wrapped in a thin plastic material to make sure none of the vapor would escape. “A… Aconite sir… commonly known as—” “Wolfsbane.” Snape took a step closer to her and she took another step back, only to find herself trapped against the wall, “I’m not above having you smell this Ms. Lupin, considering your condition I understand it could weaken you considerably so I’ll only ask this once.” He leaned in close and leered, “Who was it that set off the ginger?” Her eyes were focused on the Aconite, pure terror coursing through her veins with it so close. 

She could tell him. It would be easy, just two names, one reason, and then she could leave to be with her friends.

But Pyxis wasn’t about to do that.

She looked up at Professor Snape and said, “I did it sir. I swear.” Snape’s eyes narrowed, “You’re lying.” She shook her head, “No sir. I swear, I came in when you told us to get the ingredients. I slipped the sugar and water into the jars and shook them, the color of the bubbles came from a spell we learned in Charms.” She sincerely hoped he would accept her lie.“Loyalty, while it is something I admire in honest wizards, will not get you far here,” Snape removed the film over the stopper, she could barely smell the sickly sweet odor coming from the vial. “Who set off the ginger?” She shook her head, “I did.” “Ms. Lupin, though you have questionable parents, you are an admirable student, now tell me who really did it.” “Me.” 

Pyxis could tell Snape was getting impatient, he held the aconite closer, “Tell me who did it Ms. Lupin.” The smell was getting to her, legs going weak, stomach roiling, she could barely think straight with the dried flower so close. She curled up into a ball against the wall and blocked her face with her arms, “It was me sir… please… the smell…” Pyxis covered her mouth with both her scarf and the sleeves of her robes, blocking out as much odor as possible. 

There was the sound of a frustrated sigh and then some movement. When she peered through her arms, Pyxis saw Professor Snape placing the Aconite back onto the top shelf. He removed another vial and held out his hand, “Come with me Ms. Lupin.” She glanced at the vial and his hand, wary in case it was something else that would make her sick, “Ms. Lupin, I make your Wolfsbane potions every month, do you truly believe I would try to poison you now of all times?” She shrugged, but took his hand.

They went back out into the potions lab and had her sit down on one of the nearby desks. Snape pulled a jar of some white liquid ad added the herbs from the vial into it, after boiling for a little bit, he handed it to her and said, “Drink.” To weak to protest, she did as she was told. It was a little sweet, and tasted mostly of warm milk; when she was finished with it, she noticed that her dizziness and nausea were all gone. She looked up at him, “what was that?” 

Snape snorted, “Merely basil and milk. Simple cure for the symptoms you were showing.” She looked down at the empty mug, she had expected a trip to the hospital wing, not her favorite drink. “Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy will be receiving detention for the next three months in your stead Ms. Lupin, tell them both not to be late.” Her eyes went wide and she was going to protest that it was in fact her that set off the ginger, when Professor Snape raised his hand, “I could already tell who caused such a mess. You standing up for them only affirmed their fates, your loyalty towards them is strong to say the least, but I advise you to not do that again. Now get out.” 

Pyxis gaped at the man. He knew. This entire time while he was waving around the very thing that could kill her, he knew who it was that set off the prank. She set the mug on the table and gathered her things, before leaving she asked, “Why did you threaten me if you knew then?” Professor Snape’s eyes narrowed, “I did not threaten you Ms. Lupin, I needed to know how badly the aconite would affect you, even if you could not directly inhale its scent. This situation was merely beneficial towards that task.” She grit her teeth, why didn’t he just ask that instead of scaring her half to death! She opened the door and stepped outside, thinking, Bloody Slytherins. I’m never going to understand them.

~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for Reading! Kudos and Comments are appreciated!  
> Come find me on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bio-blegh


	2. Stars and Mirrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said I would be posting every saturday? I got bored, so this one is kinda long, but I really don't wanna write a bajillion chapters for each year Pyxis went to school. So there'll just be scenes from big points in time, Every year will have two chapters, one for winter term with a bit of christmas. And for Spring term with either spring break, or her birthday, or something equally as important. Enjoy!

Six weeks after the potions lab incident, Pyxis was rushing from her dorm to get to the Great Hall early, hoping to get some food before she had to meet up with Professor Sprout at the green houses. The full moon was tonight, and she really did not want to go hungry, the last month she skipped dinner, she accidentally ate a rabbit and left a bloody mess in the forest. When the care of magical creatures Professor brought his class out the next day, they saw the body and several students sicked up then and there. She already made sure that she had on her most ragged set of robes in case she didn’t have time to change, and now she just hoped the house elves had already put out food. 

When she got to the hall, she noticed that a small portion of the Hufflepuff table already had food on it, and more importantly, they were her favorite foods. Raising her hands in joy she shouted, “Merlin Bless the House Elves!” She sat at the bench and scarfed down as much food as possible before booking it out of the Hall.

Downing a large swig of juice and stealing a cookie, she headed over to greenhouse three. Some second year students were leaving and they waved at her, she waved back and swallowed the rest of her sugary snack. Professor Sprout stepped out last and smiled down at Pyxis, “Already for tonight?” she nodded, “What were you teaching Professor?” The older witch wiped off her hands on her apron, “Mandrakes dearie, how to care for mandrakes, something you’ll learn about next year. Now, why don’t we head on over to the Willow?” 

When they emerged at the shack Professor Snape, Madame Pomfrey, and Professor Mcgonagall were already there. Professor Sprout smiled at them and turned to Pyxis, "Alright dearie, you should be all set, I'll see you in the morning with Poppy alright?" Pyxis nodded and watched her head of house leave. Turning back to the other three adults, she smirked, "The usual routine then?" Madame Pomfrey chuckled and nodded, Snape handed her the Wolfsbane potion and gave her a curt nod before leaving. 

Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall followed her up to the room on the second floor. Once in the room, Pomfrey did a quick check up of all her vitals and told her she was in the clear for the night, Professor McGonagall gave her the usual warnings, "Don't kill anything within sight of the students. Don't come near the castle while you're transformed. Try to steer clear of the magical creatures in the forest, they may not like you. And most importantly," the two of them repeated this line together, "Take. Your. Potion." With that done Professor McGonagall bid her goodnight and left as well. 

Pyxis pouted and glared at the vial in her hands, the contents looking more like the motor oil her dad used for his bike than something she was supposed to drink. Grimacing, she downed the whole thing and shuddered as it slid down her throat. The sun was just about to set, she opened the drawer of a bureau that Professor Sprout had left and went about disrobing. She sat on the bed and looked out the window, the moon beginning to rise just above the horizon. As her limbs lengthened and her jaw stretched, Pyxis tried to focus on other things to keep her mind off the pain. Wondering when she would have time to finish her Transfiguration homework, trying to figure out what to write her parents in her next letter. 

Finally, the pain stopped and she could breathe without screaming. Standing up on four paws, she took a whiff of the room, dust, a bit of blood, and her own natural scent from the clothes she stowed in the bureau. Shaking her coat, she stretched out her limbs and heard a few joints pop into place. Not all transformations were smooth. She was just lucky it wasn’t her spine or ribs, that had been a fun night. 

Pushing the door open with her snout, she padded out of the room, down the stairs, and out the front door. A gust of wind blew by as she was stepping out, the smell of fresh pine and wet grass filling her nostrils. It made her blood sing and her senses sharpen, taking care to close the door behind her, Pyxis ran straight for the Forbidden Forest. 

With the familiar soil beneath her feet, she howled loudly and raced through the wood. The part of the forest that was near Hogwarts was still pretty new to her, it was denser, and more diverse than the portion by Hogsmeade. While exploring it she’d seen a number of magical creatures living inside it. Acromantulas, Unicorns, the occasional herd of Thestrals, and she was really surprised when she found out that she wasn’t the only Werewolf running through here. She’d even met the centaur herd that lived nearby a couple of times, both as a human and a wolf. Luckily they seemed to recognize her when she transformed, she nearly died once when she caught a Centaur Colt and its mother by surprise. If Firenze hadn’t been there she wouldn’t be running around right about now. 

The Centaur in question saw her and galloped up by her side, “Well met wolf cub.” She gave a wolfish grin, ‘same to you Firenze. How is your herd faring?’ The centaur slowed to a trot so she could keep up, “Jupiter has been shining down brightly on us young one. Peaceful times seem to be abundant in our future.” They jumped over a log and came to a rest in a small clear in, panting Pyxis said, ‘That's great. Jupiter is the lucky planet right?’ Firenze nodded, “yes young cub, it seems to be shining brightly on the magical world as a whole.” She rested her head on her paws, tongue lolling out a little, ‘that's good, considering what my parents went through, I think we deserve a break from wars and dark times.’

Firenze nodded, “Indeed.” The elder centaur looked up, constellations and stars glittered through the night sky, they watched as a shooting star streaked across the leafy canopy, Pyxis said ‘Make a wish.’ Firenze snorted, “Those have no more magical power than a firefly wolf cub.” She huffed, “Its still fun to pretend.’ “How about an actual reading instead of false hope.” ‘Aren’t centaurs supposed to be cryptic instead of being so forward with the futures of others?’ He let out a braying laugh, “It is in our nature yes, but only towards humans.” Pyxis snorted, ‘I’m a human.’ “No child. When you were bitten, your species changed. A werewolf is its own kind of magical creature, just as it is its own kind of wizard.” 

Pyxis gave him a smug look, ‘There’s the cryptic messages I’m used to.’ The older centaur shook his head and looked up into the sky, she looked up alongside him, ‘what do you see?’ Firenze was quiet. He didn’t speak for a long time, brow furrowed as he concentrated on the stars overhead. When he turned back to her, a dark shadow clouded his face. “Your path is a strange one wolf cub. In the times to come, you lead a normal life. Squabbles between you and your loved ones, new friendships, and even a hint of love in your future.” Pyxis cocked her head to the side, ‘But…’ His brow furrowed further, “There are portions where, you simply do not exist. There is a gap where your path should continue, but then you simply cease.” She looked at him with a confused gaze, ’What do you mean I cease? Do I die or something?’ Firenze shook his head, “If that were true you would have to die many times and return somehow. No, you… you do not exist. It is as if you are wiped from history at certain points, only to return at shortly after.”

Pyxis looked up at the sky, wondering what it was that Firenze could see. All that was up there were bright sparkly dots, ‘Well… I didn’t understand the stars when Aunt Narcissa tried to explain them. I don’t expect to now.’ With that she got up and shook herself to wake her sleeping limbs, ‘the sun’s going to come up soon, and I don’t wanna be out here when I change back. Well met Firenze.’ The centaur gave her a strange look, “Watch yourself wolf cub. Old magic is at work here.” She bobbed her head in a nod, ‘Sure. I’ll do that.’

\~*~/

Several weeks later, Pyxis was studying for her transfigurations test with a Ravenclaw named Hermione. They were quizzing each other on wand movements and proper pronunciation when Harry and Draco came running into the Library. Pyxis looked up from her textbook and the boys grinned, “Pyxis you’ll never guess what we found!” "It's the best thing, and it’s gonna make us a fortune!” Madam Pince looked up from her desk and shooshed them harshly, Pyxis and Hermione winced, both whispering, "Sorry." Madam Pince glared at them before going back to reading her book. 

Pyxis turned back to the boys with a glare, "You both know we have a major exam coming up in Transfigurations right?" They nodded, "You know we should be studying so McGonagall doesn't fail us right?" They nodded again, they're gleeful faces unhindered by her words, she sighed and turned back to Hermione, "Can I meet up with you tomorrow to do this?" Hermione gave a sympathetic look, "Go ahead. If what you've told me about those two is true, they won't stop bugging us until you go with them. Besides I need to revise my notes anyway." Pyxis gave her an apologetic smile, "I promise to make it up to you." Hermione only waved her off.

They left the library and started to walk down the hall. With Harry and Draco on either side of her they started to talk. “Ok so you know how we were looking through some of the secret passages you dads told us about?” “The ones you, for some strange reason, have neglected to use.” She snorted, “I use them, just not when you're around. Or do you still not know about those?” Draco made an aggravated noise, but Harry kept talking, “Well we were going through one of them in the middle of the night and when we came out behind the Humpbacked Witch, we saw some of the Professors moving something huge into one of the empty classrooms.” That piqued her interest, “How big?” They hopped onto one of the moving staircases and climbed up, “Looked about the size of one of the Bureaus in our dorm room.” Pyxis paused at the top step, “You have Bureaus?” They nodded and Draco said, “Of course, why what do you have?” She grinned, “Pirate chests.” Harry nearly fell back down the stairs, “Say what?!”

Pyxis snickered, “We have pirate chests at the foot of our beds, makes me feel like I'm opening a box of treasure everyday.” Both boys looked jealous for a moment before shaking their heads, “Anyway we waited a bit by the entrance to the passage for the professors to leave so we could see what it was.” Harry continued, “When all of them had left we snuck in and saw the huge thing was covered with a white sheet, and we pulled it back we found this huge mirror!” Her brow furrowed, “What's so special about a mirror?” They walked down the hall and stopped in front of an ordinary door, “Pyx, it's not just about the mirror. It's about what the mirror does.” They pushed open the door and stepped inside. Just like the boys said, there stood an enormous mirror, gilded in a beautiful golden frame with the top decorated to look as if the glass was disappearing into a dozen crystal petals.

Her eyes went wide and she touched the frame, along the top, words had been written in ornate script, 'Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.' She looked at the boys, “It's beautiful, so... What are you going to charge people for? Looking into it?” Draco and Harry nodded, “two sickles a glance, and three sickles for five minutes.” Pyxis raised her eyebrows, “you know they can just look over other people’s shoulders to look right?” Harry was about to respond, but promptly shut his mouth, Draco glared at her, “that might be a snag in our plans.” She couldn't help but laugh, “Just a snag? Draco, someone could walk in the door, walk around the people looking, or peer over their shoulder and have a look without being charged at all. I'd say that's more than a snag.”

Both boys looked at one another, “ok fine it's a bad plan, we just thought it would be great in the spur of the moment of finding this thing.” Pyxis smirked, “Theres the sensible Harry I know and love to tease.” He glared at her, she ignored him, “So... Have either of you looked into it?” Draco shook his head, “Spur of the moment kinda left us thinking ahead before seeing what it could do.” She snorted, “Why don't we check right now?” Both boys shrugged, but lined up side by side, looking into the mirror.

She watched their faces for any sign of what they were seeing, but Draco turned to her, “Hey, if we're doing this you have to do it too.” She shrugged, “Sure, what have I got to lose.” She stepped in between them both and looked into the mirror. Pyxis stood there for five minutes, waiting for something to happen, and in those five minutes, all she saw was her reflection and the two boys looking back at her. But when she looked at the other two, she saw they were mesmerized, Draco was even blushing. Looking back at her reflection, she saw nothing new. Just a boy with messy hair and green eyes, another boy with slick blonde hair and grey eyes, and a girl with curly brown hair and silver eyes. She stared worriedly at the two of them, “Did the both of you forget how mirrors work?”

A voice spoke from behind them, "On the contrary Ms. Lupin. They know perfectly well that the mirror works." All three of them whirled around and backed against the mirror, Professor Dumbledore looked at them with a warm smile and a twinkle in his eye. "Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter, Ms. Lupin, I see you've found my little secret." Pyxis looked at Harry and Draco before stepping forward and speaking, “Secret sir? Were we not meant to be here?” Headmaster Dumbledore shook his head, “Well no my dear. I didn't want anyone up here, but now that you three are here, I can't very well hide it.” The old wizard walked up to the mirror and motioned to it with his hand, "Mr. Malfoy if you would, could you please tell me what you see when you look in here?" Draco glanced over at Pyxis, trying to see if she knew what was happening, but she only shook her head.

Looking in he said, "I'm grown. I've earned the respect of my peers somehow... They see me. Not my father and his fools alliance, not my mother and her connections... Just me." His blush from earlier was back, and Dumbledore nodded; turning to Harry, "and you Mr. Potter?" Harry fidgeted a bit before answering, “...I... I see me, I'm older too. I've won the house cup, and my Parents are proud of me, but they're behind me. People are congratulating me, saying how I'm a great student.” Dumbledore smiled down at him, “I'm sure you already are my boy. And you Ms. Lupin?” Pyxis huffed, frustrated with what the boys were saying, “you're both mental. It's a bloody mirror, it shows what's reflected in it!” 

Dumbledore chuckled, “and what would that be my dear?” She stared at the headmaster, 'please tell me he's joking.' Dumbledore continued to smile, 'he's not joking. Well isn’t that great, my headmaster has gone senile.’ With an annoyed sigh she crossed her arms and looked into the mirror, "I see Harry, Draco, and myself. We're all smiling, and we've each got an arm over each others shoul-" she stopped. They were smiling, laughing even, the three of them were happy. And Dumbledore was nowhere in the mirror. Her eyes went wide and she looked at the professor, “before you say anything my dear, no. I am not a vampire.”

She blushed, “Sorry for thinking it.” Headmaster Dumbledore patted her head, “It's alright dear. I'd think that too if I'd seen what you have.” She looked away and turned back to the mirror, she could still see their happy faces, all of them so playful with one another, she couldn't help but smile. “Children, you've read the inscription haven't you?” They nodded, “Fascinating piece of magic, this is artifact is known as the mirror of Erised, and it is meant to show the heart’s desire. Mr. Malfoy, you saw yourself respected and standing apart from your family, but your mother was still there. Is that not the future you hope to see for yourself someday?” 

Draco nodded curtly, not looking at any of therm, his blush darkening just a tiny bit. Dumbledore put a ha d in his shoulder, “A rather prideful desire, but not an uncommon one. Mr. Potter, you saw yourself standing out and making a name for yourself, a name for your own if you understand me.” Harry nodded, “Yes sir.” “And Ms. Lupin,” Pyxis looked up at the headmaster, “All you saw, before we unknowingly irritated you, was the reflection of yourself and these two.” She nodded, “Yes sir.”

Dumbledore looked at the mirror himself and smiled, “All of you saw what you desired most when you looked into this mirror. How you choose to interpret that image, is entirely up to you. However, I believe you three have spent enough time up here today, you should head back over to your respective dorms, it's almost curfew.” 

The three looked at one another and nodded, before making their way out, but before she could go Dumbledore placed a hand on Pyxis's shoulder, “My dear. I believe you are currently in possession of a... Shall we say, curious, object.” She tensed, “There's no need to fear me dear. I believe you were given that object for a reason, what I wish to convey to you is that you keep it close to you at all times. You never know when it might come in handy.” He gave her a cryptic smile and ushered her out the door. 

Staring as Dumbledore closed it behind her, she wondered how he knew she had the ring. And more importantly, if he knew what had happened all those years ago.

\~*~/

Christmas arrived before anyone even knew Halloween had ended. Students stood by the doors of the Great Hall, hugging and saying goodbyes, giving promises to write and visit over the holidays. Pyxis gave both Harry and Draco a hug before they boarded the train, “come on Pyx. Don’t you wanna at least ride with us back to King’s Cross?” She smirked at Harry, “And then take the train back here? If you’ve forgotten I actually live in Hogsmeade,and I don’t want to go in a giant circle so I can babysit the two of you.” Draco huffed, “ You took the train on the way to Hogwarts, plus, we’re capable of taking care of ourselves thank you very much.” Pyxis raised an eyebrow, “Oh yeah? Tell that to the other first years when you set loose a bunch of chocolate frogs all along the train on our way here.”

Draco winced, “We cleaned it up…” She snorted, “No. I cleaned it up. You’re just lucky the frogs didn’t manage to get to the prefects quarters. You would have been out of the running for the house cup long before we even reached the school. And I took the train there because I wanted to see what it was like.” They both flinched at that and Pyxis laughed, “Don’t be such babies. I’ll see you both come Boxing day, alright? Now hurry and get on before the train leaves you behind.” Harry gave her another hug and said goodbye, Draco saluted her and hopped aboard, she watched alongside Hagrid as the train pulled away from the station. Waving at her friends until they disappeared around the bend. 

Hagrid came up behind her and smiled behind his great bushy beard, “Headin’ home fer the holidays Pyxie?” She nodded, “Yeah, its only a ten minute walk. Fancy coming with me? I’m sure my parents would love having you over for dinner.” Hagrid guffawed, “While I thank ya fer the invite, I’ve still got o’ bit o’ work ta do around Hogwarts. Maybe fer Boxin’ day. Now go on. I know how yer parents aren’t too keen on you bein’ late comin’ home.” He ruffled her hair, making it even curlier than it already was, and made his way back up the path to Hogwarts. 

Pyxis her nose and mouth with her scarf and shoved her hands in her pockets, fingers grazing the ring and snitch she always kept with her, as she made her way through the snowy road of Hogsmeade.

By the time she arrived at her cottage, the snow started to fall heavily and nearly covered her from head to toe. Sirius opened the door and pretended to be frightened, “Moony Help! There’s a snow monster on our doorstep!” Pyxis snorted and raised her arms, growling a little bit to keep up the charade, “Help Me Moony! Its going to eat me!” Her Dad backed up into the house, but tripped over the entrance rug and fell back. Pyxis took this chance and pounced on top of him, sitting on his stomach and bouncing on him to further the attack. 

A wash of magic covered her for a moment before the snow on her turned to water and soaked through her clothes. She shrieked and jumped off of Sirius, ridding herself of the sodden robes and scarf. Looking up, Pyxis saw Remus clutching his stomach and laughing like a madman, she pouted at him and said, “That wasn’t funny!” Sirius groaned and got up from the floor, “You’re right. That’s wasn’t funny… that was Remus.” She groaned and covered her hands with her face, “You guys are mean.” Remus pulled her hands away, “No pup. We’re not mean. We’re your parents. I thought you knew that.” 

Pyxis threw her hands up in the air with a frustrated shriek, “I’m going upstairs to change, no more Dad Jokes.” “Are Pyxis Jokes ok then?” She screamed and ran up the stairs with her ears covered. Both men couldn’t help laughing, “What do you think Moony? Should we punish her with more jokes for the Potions lab incident?” “You know what Padfoot. I think we shall.” With that they picked up her discarded clothes and went up the stairs, thinking about the next couple weeks they would have, tormenting their little girl. 

\~*~/

On Christmas morning, Pyxis woke up to the sound of “Carol of the Bells” being played on the piano. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and looked out the window, the world was awash with white, and the icicles dangling from the trees sparkled like crystals. Hopping out of bed, she made her way down stairs in only her sleep jumper, some loose shorts, and socks. She slid down the bannister of the staircase and went to the living room; there she found her father playing the piano and humming along to the melody. Pyxis yawned and sat on the bench next to him, rolling back the sleeves of her jumper, she played the melody in tandem with her father so he could change to the harmony. 

Together they sang the chorus and played the finishing set of notes on the music sheet. Sirius walked out of the kitchen to find the two of them playing together, he smiled and went back to get a camera. Filming them both while they were distracted with notes and arpeggios, feeling his heart swell with love for the two of them. They finished on a high note, and when Pyxis turned to see Sirius, she smiled tiredly, “And that concludes todays performance. We take payments in galleons, pounds, and credit cards.” Remus rolled his eyes, “you’re sarcasm is leaking again.” She shrugged, “What can I say, its adoptive.” 

Remus snickered, “Alright come on lets eat breakfast and then we can open presents.” She piqued up at that and raced for the dining room, shouting “FOOD!” Sirius rolled his eyes, “She really is a Hufflepuff.” Pyxis stuck her head around the door way, “I heard that.” Remus shrugged, “Well its true.” She scowled at him, then smirked, “I’m going to eat all the chocolate chip pancakes.” Remus’s eyes went wide, “You will not!” And the two of them raced off to the kitchen.

Breakfast was a jovial affair, with Pyxis talking about her time at Hogwarts, while Remus and Sirius told her what they had been up to while she was away. They learned about her friends in Hufflepuff, and the young girl she’d been studying with in Ravenclaw. She learned that Sirius had opened a garage in London specifically for motorbikes, and magically augmented vehicles; while Remus was still looking for job prospects, “Its a little hard right now for me pup, don’t worry though, I’ll find something.” Through a mouthful of pancake, Pyxis said, “I heard Professor McGonagall say that Professor Quirrel was planning to quit his job as professor of the DADA. Maybe you could take up that job Father.” Remus chewed his bacon thoughtfully, “You know what… I think I might actually look into it.” 

When they had finished, they went back to the living room and towards the christmas tree. It was decorated with small magical icicles that changed color depending on the mood of the room, pieces of tinsel were draped over every branch, and at the top was a beautiful glass star. An enchanted Saint Nicholas flew around it and waved when he flew past Pyxis, she giggled and waved back. “Alright Pixie Dust, since you’re the youngest in the room, you get to open your first present.” She smiled at her Dad and looked around, there weren’t that many, but she couldn’t care less. Picking up one of the smaller presents, she carefully unwrapped the yellow and black wrapping paper to find a velvet covered box. She raised an eyebrow as she lifted the lid, and gasped when she saw what was inside. 

A beautiful white gold chain necklace lay on a black bed of cloth. There was a small charm of a wolf and a dog chasing each other around a full moon, engraved on top of the moon was the constellation Pyxis. She turned to her parents in awe, “This is beautiful…” Remus smiled, “Its a locket you know. Run your thumb along the middle of the moon.” She did as he asked and watched as the wolf and dog actually ran to the opposite \ sides of the locket and pulled the moon into halves, the center picture was of herself, while the halves of the moon showed Sirius and Remus. 

Pyxis jumped up and barreled into them both, “ThankyouThankyouThankyou!!!” Sirius and Remus laughed, squeezing her tight, “Your welcome love. Now come on, lets see how that looks on you.” Sirius leaned down and clasped the necklace from behind her, the wolf and dog went back to chasing each other, freezing in place at the top of the moon, the pictures fading away. She went back to the tree and took out two larger boxes from underneath, handing one to each of them she stepped back and waited. 

Sirius smiled, “Me first then. Since I am the more youthful of us two.” Both Remus and Pyxis snorted, Sirius unwrapped the gold and red wrapping and his jaw dropped when he saw what was inside. It was a picture frame holding a younger version of himself and his younger brother Regulus. Both boys were smiling gleefully and holding their Quidditch brooms high, he looked up at his daughter, “Pyx… where did you get this?” 

“Well… I was talking about Quidditch try outs with Madam Hooch, wondering if I could get a spot on the team this year. She said no, but talked about how you were a great beater and that uncle Reg was a great Seeker. She said that even though you were at each others throats after third year, you two were really close during your second, she took that picture when uncle Reg had won against Gryffindor. So she gave me the picture to give to you.” Sirius smiled, tears starting to build in his eyes, “Thank you love,” he pulled her close, “Best present you could’ve ever gotten me.” She squeezed him back, “your welcome, now its father’s turn.” 

Remus smiled at his daughter and unwrapped his own red and gold present. A plain old wooden box was underneath the paper, he raised an eyebrow at Pyxis, but she only motioned for him to open it. Inside were two things, the first was a chocolate bar from Honeydukes, she’d stopped off there before coming home from Hogwarts and thought to add it to her present. Remus smirked, “You know me so well.” She pointed to the box, “there’s more.” He looked in again and found a small leather bound notebook, when he opened the cover he found his sketches. Sirius laughing, Pyxis smiling, the two of them dancing along to Mulan’s “Be a Man!” Occasionally there was the drawing of a black dog and a stag, Lily and James waved at him from another page, while Harry smirked as he chased after the snitch. Draco smirked haughtily with Narcissa looking on with warmth. 

Pyxis smiled at her father’s awestruck expression, “I found those drawings in your desk in the study. I wasn’t snooping, I swear, you hid my book and I thought it was in there. Besides it would be easier if you could have them all in one place instead of strewn everywhere. Plus… every artist needs a place to keep their works right?” Remus scooped her up and nearly crushed her with his hug, “Yeah… thank you pup.” He pecked her forehead and set her back down, wiping his eyes he said, “Well then. Now that thats done, what do you say to opening the rest of these presents?”

The other two nodded and they all dived in. Pyxis came out with a new jumper with her house colors, and a dirt bike that her dad enchanted to fly when revved fast enough. Remus came out with the mother load of chocolate and new books on drawing styles with accompanying artist supplies. Sirius had a new batch of skin and hair care products, along with a jumper that said, "If lost return to Pyxis or Remus" on the back. Remus and Pyxis had matching ones that saying who they were respectively. 

They all reclined on the sofas and fiddled with their new presents, Pyxis gripped her locket and turned to her parents. They were napping together on the couch, both with peaceful smiles on their faces. She smiled and leaned her head against the cushions, happy that she had such a strange little family.

\~*~/

The rest of the school term seemed to breeze by after Christmas. Pyxis was so busy trying to focus on passing her final exams that she didn’t realize Spring break had come and gone. The Mirror wasn’t even an issue with the boys anymore, both of them saying people wouldn’t pay for something that wasn’t definite. She could find them sometimes looking towards the classroom when they passed by, but they never went in. That didn’t stop her though.

She would come once a month, a little bit after the full moon, just to see what she could. Most of the time it was the same image as the first: Harry, Draco, and herself all laughing and enjoying each other’s company. Other times she would see the boy she met in the woods. Her reflection would be by his side, older of course, an arm wrapped around his shoulder and they would be smile like they’d known each other for years. There was a third person in the reflection too, he looked like an older version of Draco, but this person… he was too old. Not in physical features, but every time she looked in his eyes, he seemed a bit more tired than the other two. 

One night, as she was making her way to the Mirror, she heard someone shuffling about in the abandoned classroom. She hid in one of the alcoves behind a suit of armor, whispering to it to stay quiet, the suit nodded and faced the front. She watched as a wash of bright blue robes exited from the classroom and started to make its way down the hall. But But it stopped for a moment in front of her suit of her armor, Pyxis held her breath and sent a silent prayer to Merlin that she wouldn’t be caught. Glittering blue eyes were reflected on the metal suit, and for a moment she thought they locked on her, but the blue-eyed wizard looked away and continued walking down the hall.

Pyxis let out a sigh of relief and exited the alcove. She looked down the path the Professor had taken, only to find it empty of anyone but herself. Placing her right hand over her left, she wiggled the ring on her hand, hoping that it might offer her some kind of protection. She turned around and headed for the room with the Mirror. 

Inside she saw nothing had been changed. The Mirror was still in the same place, the furniture is still covered, but sitting in front of the mirror was a small bag. A red light glowed dimly from within and she could feel a small amount of heat radiating from it. Curious, she picked up the bag and took a sniff. It was earthy, but heavily saturated with magic; there was a strange pulse to it as well making her feel like it was alive somehow.

Opening the bag she dropped a small stone onto her ringed hand, the red glow grew in brightness the moment it touched the band. A thrum of magic pulsed between the two objects and she dropped the stone in surprise, the glow brightened to the point of a flash and Pyxis was forced to cover her eyes. When the light was gone, she slowly lowered her hands and found herself in a different room than before. It looked more like a dungeon than anything, large stone pillars and wall sconces decorated it. The Mirror and herself were in the center of a lowered floor, the glass facing the exit which was at the very top of a stairwell.

Pyxis looked down and found the strange stone at her feet, a voice whispered in her ear, warm and wispy it asked, “Place the stone in your pocket, if you would.” She whirled around, but found no one. The voice chuckled and whispered, “You have not traveled often enough to see me yet young one. One day you will though, and you will not be afraid.” Pyxis fiddled with her necklace, “Who says I’m scared?” The voice laughed, “You are not scared child, this much I can see. However, being afraid is something different. You will understand this soon, but quickly now, hide the stone.” 

She did as the voice told her, trusting it for no reason other than it felt like an old friend. She placed the stone in her pocket and looked around, “Now what?” The voice was silent and she huffed, “Well what good are you if you don’t tell me how to finish what I started?”

She turned to the Mirror, maybe hoping maybe the reflection would show the owner of the mysterious voice. Instead all she saw was the familiar image of herself and her boys, she sighed, “At least I’ve always got them.” The reflections smiled back at her and she thought about finding them after leaving the Mirror.

The sound of footsteps halted her little reverie and she turned around. The door was open and let in a little bit of breeze, the familiar scent of garlic and old cloth filled her nostrils, “Professor Quirrel?” The person at the top of the steps paused, eyes narrowing before letting out a dark chuckle, “Five wizards created deadly traps in order to prevent someone from obtaining one of the most powerful magical objects in the world. I had overheard of a rumored sixth guard, but who would think it would be a mere child.” 

Professor Quirrel walked towards her, and the hairs on the back of Pyxis’s neck stood on end, something was really wrong here. The professor she was used to was a confident man, calm, and really helpful when it came to spells learning Defence. This person… He had something dark about him, and there was something physically different, but she couldn’t tell what.

Until a muffled voice began speaking from behind Professor Quirrel.

“The child… She is the Guard… But she is not…” Quirrel’s brow furrowed, “Master you mustn’t speak, you are too weak.” “Sssilence… Be wary of this child… She is a stranger in this world… yet she is a large part of it… She is alive… She does not exist… A wolf cub… Death’s messenger… A ghost… Alive…” The voice sent a feeling of dread down Pyxis’s spine, fear pooled in her belly and Pyxis began to understand what the voice meant earlier. 

Trusting a gut feeling, she slipped off her ring and placed it in the same pocket as the stone. Her voice wavering as she spoke, “Who are you? Who’s speaking?” The voice hissed out a command, “SSSShow me the child…” “Master—” “Obey me!” Quirrel turned around and unwrapped a turban, when did he ever wear a turban? As the cloth fell away, Pyxis had to hold back the urge to retch as there was a second face on the back of Quirrel’s head. 

She backed away, hoping she could remain as far away as she could from the grotesque man, only to feel the solid glass of the mirror press up against her back. The face blinked and focused its beady red eyes on her and sneered, “Guardian of the Stone… A mere girl, a foolish wizard Dumbledore must be to task you with this.” What did Dumbledore have to do with any of this? “I will give you one chance child, hand me the stone, and you might go free.” Her hand went to her pocket, it would be easy, give the monster the stone, run for her life, alert the school. 

A hand touched her shoulder, warm and firm, the voice said, “You are scared young one.” She nodded subtly, not wanting the monster to figure out she was talking to someone, “You know the difference then?” She nodded again, “It is your choice young one, either way, I will be here to pull you away. No harm shall befall you, it is not yet your time.” Pyxis placed her hand in her pocket, expecting to feel the strange stone she found in the room with the Mirror. Instead she felt the jagged band of the ring. A memory flashed before her eyes.

The same hissing voice, the same red eyes, the distorted pale face; a green flash, a dead man. Her hand clenched tightly around the band as she felt anger course through her, “Voldemort.” The second face blinked once before leering, “So the child knows my name.” Oh, she knew more than that. 

Her parents had told her the story of their time fighting against the madman. How he had nearly wiped out all of wizarding Britain in the war, attacking Muggleborns and half-bloods, even those he thought were blood traitors. But what’s more, she knew his real name. Drawing away from the mirror, Pyxis clutched the ring tighter, the jagged part of the stone piercing a bit of skin and dripping a drop of blood into the crack. “Everyone knows that name, the madman who attempted to ‘purify’ all the wizards in the world.” Her voice wavered a little, but she kept talking, “You want me to give you the stone? Over my dead body.” 

Voldemort grinned toothily, “That can be arranged child.”

The image of the dead man surfaced in her mind, but the sound of the door opening again stopped her from delving too deeply into it. A young boy rushed into the room, black hair badly mussed up, scratches covering his face and arms, wire framed glasses slightly skewed. Pyxis’s eyes widened, “Harry?!” Harry ignored her and stared at Voldemort, “Quirrel?!” Voldemort hissed, “Be rid of the boy!” 

Quirrel charged forward and aimed his wand to hex Harry. Pyxis wouldn’t let the monster harm her God brother, without thinking, she bull rushed Quirrel and hopped onto his back. Gripping tightly to his robes, to keep hold. She couldn’t reach her wand, it was still in its holster on her left arm, so she did the next best thing to disarm him. She bit him. Hard.

Quirrel howled in pain as her teeth dug into his shoulder, fangs digging deeply into the skin, drawing blood. The curse in her leaping into action, it wasn’t a full moon, but it was still flung deeply into Quirrel’s veins. Voldemort hissed in pain and ordered Quirrel to try and get her off, Quirrel did try, but she clung so tightly that there was no way he could just throw her. So he ran backwards into one of the nearby pillars, making sure that her head cracked against the jagged stone. Pyxis saw stars and was forced to let go.

She fell to the ground and spat out skin and blood, she clutched her head tightly in her hands, trying to will the room to stop spinning. She heard Quirrel swearing everything under heaven, and cracked one eye open. He was pressing his robes to her bite mark, trying to staunch the flow of blood, Voldemort hissed out, “You will heal once we have the stone! Kill the girl!” Quirrel brandished his wand and pointed it at her, “I’m going to enjoy this.” She waited for the inevitable green flash, but instead saw Harry rushing Quirrel. 

He jumped on him just as she did, and wrapped his arms around the older man’s neck, reeling back to try and throw him off balance. And while he managed that, she watched in awe and horror as the places where Harry touched Quirrel’s bare skin sizzled and boiled. Quirrel screamed in pain and dropped his wand to try and pull Harry’s arms off of him, he managed to Harry off, but only after causing the skin on his hands to be burned as well. Pyxis got up on unsteady legs, her head pounding like she had been hit with the Hogwarts Express. She reached for her wand, wanting to do something to help, only to stumble forward and land on her face. 

She heard more howls of pain and she cracked open an eyes, Harry was grabbing Quirrel’s face tightly. The skin around Harry’s hands burning and flaking away, Pyxis wanted to be sick, but her head and stomach were in a competition to make her feel bad, and her head was winning. Quirrel reeled back and fell to the ground, his eyes seemingly burned shut, mouth open in a permanent silent scream. She couldn’t smell the familiar odor of her Professor anymore, just the smell of burnt skin and cooked meat, if she wasn’t a werewolf, she’d become a vegetarian. 

Harry was sitting just a few feet away from the body. Staring wide eyed at his hands, he turned her way and she tried to smile, pretty sure it looked more like a grimace though. Harry got up and rushed over to her, “Are you ok?” She couldn’t move without her headache becoming worse, so she said, “Yup. This is the best I’ve ever been actually, probably could take on a hundred Voldemorts like this.” Harry stared at her wide eyed, “Are… are you being sarcastic?!” Pyxis snorted, “Well if you couldn’t tell after this long of knowing each other, then I guess not.” 

He continued to give her a confused stare, “Know… I don’t know you.” She blinked, “That’s not funny Harry.” Harry helped her up while saying, “No its not. I really don’t have a clue who you are. What were you even doing down here anyway?” Pyxis made him stop moving, trying to make sure the room stopped swimming before she attempted to walk and speak at the same time, “What are you talking about? Harry we’ve known each other since we were two!” Harry sat her down by the Mirror and glared at her, clearly frustrated, “No we haven’t! Listen I don’t know who you’re confusing me with, but whoever he is, I’m not him.” 

Harry ran a hand through the fringe in his hair, Pyxis was going to snap back at him, angry that he kept up this stupid charade, but froze at the last second. On Harry’s forehead, was a scar. The shape of a lightning bolt. This person, this doppleganger. This wasn’t her Harry. This wasn’t her anything. She clutched both hands to her head and tried to piece things together. Quirrel wore a turban and had Voldemort on the back of his head. The mirror was now in some kind of dungeon room instead of an unused classroom. Voldemort said something about her being a stranger to this world. Not to him, to the world.

She shook a little when she said, “Well I’m definitely not in bloody Kansas anymore.” 

The Boy looked down at her with a confused look, “What?” Pyxis shook her head pulled out the stone she found, “I’m guessing that Voldemort was after this?” The Boy’s eyes went wide, “Yes! You had it this whole time?!” She nodded and turned the red rock in her hands, it was small, an odd color, but other than that it didn’t seem all that special. “What’s so important about it?” The Boy bit his lip, debating something, and then shrugged, “Its the Philosopher’s Stone, the one made by Nicholas Flamel, its supposed to grant eternal life.” Pyxis nearly dropped the stone in surprise, “You’re serious?!” The Boy nodded, holding the stone out to him she said, “You should take it. I don’t want it.” The Boy smiled and obliged.

He sat down next to her and cocked his head to the side, “So, wanna tell me what you’re doing down here?” She snorted, “What are you a Prefect?” The Boy snorted, “No, just wondering how you got past fluffy and all those other traps.” Pyxis’s brow furrowed, “What traps?” The Boy blinked, “You know… the three headed dog, the devil’s snare, the chessboard of death,” he cringed with the last one, “How did you get past them?” Pyxis felt confused, “There were no traps, I just walked into the abandoned classroom and then suddenly I was here.” 

She waved her hands around for emphasis, but quickly clamped them to the sides of her head to keep the room from spinning. The Boy put his hands on her shoulders to steady her, “Quirrel got you bad didn’t he.” She nodded, making the room spin even more, she groaned and leaned against him, “Make it stop…” The boy murmured something that she didn’t catch, as the door was slammed open and several people came running inside.

There were loud shouts and exclamations of, “WHAT IN MERLIN’S NAME IS GOING ON HERE!” Two women and two men rushed down the steps over to where Pyxis and Harry were sitting; one of the women was dressed in nurse robes and ran immediately to Pyxis. “Alright dear I need to check you over alright? I promise this won’t hurt.” Pyxis only leaned closer to the Boy, unsure of these new people, even if the one checking her sounded a lot like Madam Pomfrey. 

She felt a wash of magic cover her and heard the clucking of the woman’s tongue, “I need to get this one to the Hospital Wing right away. She has a severe concussion, there might be more injuries, but I can’t be certain.” The other woman, who sounded suspiciously like Professor McGonagall, said something like do it quickly and she felt tender hands try to pick her up, “Come on dear, we need to get you up now.” Pyxis scooted away, the smells and voices were familiar, but everything felt wrong, “no… don’t know you.” She clung tighter to the Boy, not willing to go far away from him. The scent of laundry, cut grass, and broom polish filled her nostrils; Merlin on high, this kid even smelled like Harry. 

The Boy held her close out of worry, “Madam Pomfrey, I don’t think she’s able to go anywhere. Quirrel rammed her into one of the pillars and I think its finally hitting her.” Pyxis nodded into the Boy’s shoulder, she heard more clucking and felt another wash of magic thrum around her head. The headache vanished and spinning sensation stopped altogether, she cracked open an eye and pulled away from him. The person who had been clucking at her had in fact been Madam Pomfrey, and the healer was now giving her a stern glare. “I’ve healed your concussion, but we need to make sure there isn’t any lasting damage.” Pomfrey held out her hand and Pyxis made to take it, when another voice stopped her. “I believe she is to remain here for the time being Poppy.” 

Pyxis’s eyes widened when she saw who spoke. Dumbledore was smiling warmly at her from where he stood next to Professor Snape; he motioned to her with a wave of his hand. “I don’t suppose any of you here can tell me who this girl is in the first place, let alone try to pull up medical records to assess her health.” The adults in the room peered at her, eyes narrowing, Pyxis squirmed under their gazes, feeling as if she was on display in a carnival. Professor McGonagall’s eyes widened, Madam Pomfrey took a step back, Professor Snape eye’s narrowed dangerously as he asked, “Who. Are. You?” 

Pyxis turned to Dumbledore, and the older wizard smiled, “ I don’t have that answer dear. But I do believe someone is offering you the chance to back out of that question, at least for now.” Dumbledore pointed to the mirror and she looked at her reflection, standing in front of her was a blurry robed figure, with a smile the same warm voice spoke, “Time to go young one.” Without hesitating she reached towards the reflection and took the Stranger’s hand, the robed figure gave a little tug and she was pulled through the glass.

The gasps from the people behind her faded, as Pyxis passed through the Mirror. Still holding the stranger’s hand, she turned back around to see the shocked faces of the people back in the other room. The boy who looked like Harry seemed the most surprised out of them all, even if Professor Snape looked pale enough to be ghost, she couldn’t help but snigger. Dumbledore gave her another warm smile and waved as she and the robed figure walked away. 

The two of them walked for a while, the silence between comfortable, and familiar. Pyxis looked up at the blurry figure, she thought she knew him, not in the way she knew her family or her friends. It was an older knowing, almost instinctual. She was a little afraid of him, but at the same time, she was comforted by his presence. The Stranger looked down at her, she couldn’t see into his hood, but she thought she could feel him smiling.

They arrived in front of another doorway, this one showing the abandoned classroom she had been in earlier. The figure removed his hand from hers and placed it on her back, giving her a little push Pyxis stepped through the second doorway and into the classroom. She turned around to find her reflection and the robed figure smiling back at her, “I will see you soon young one. Rest now.” The blurry figure disappeared, leaving behind only her reflection. Feeling surreal, Pyxis pulled out the ring from her pocket and slipped it back on. She made her way out of the classroom and started walking back to her dormitory, wondering how long it would be until she saw the figure again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for Reading! Kudos and Comments appreciated!  
> Come find me on tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bio-blegh


	3. A Midsummer's Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yo, ok so I've been wrestling with this chapter for the past week, and it might be a bit short, but I am not writing it again because I need to work on the next one. So basically Pyxis is back home for the summer, just hanging out with dear old Dads. We get to see what kind of music she likes, and one of her biggest fears. Hope you like it. Ah! almost forgot, I may have said in the prequel that Pyxis's eyes were grey. Scratch that right out, they're blue.

Pyxis is sitting in the window seat, book in her lap, and headphones on her ears. The Beatles helping her tune out the world outside of her book. She leaned her head against the cool pane, a few stray curls falling into her face, but she doesn’t mind. Sirius is sitting on a rolling chair towards the back of the room, reading through a first edition of The Lord Of the Rings, Remus is taking a nap on the couch opposite Sirius. 

She starts chuckling madly when she reads about talking beavers telling off the Pevensie children. Sirius looked up and smiled, canceling her music with a wave of his wand he asked, “What’s so funny?” She glanced up from her book, “Animals can’t speak english. The author’s a wizard, he should know this!” Sirius snorted, “And hobbits don’t exist, you don’t see me laughing at my book do you?” Pyxis rolled her eyes, “Dad that author is a muggle, he wouldn’t know, but him,” She raised up her Chronicle’s of Narnia book, “He’s a half-blood and he knows animals, even animagi, don’t speak english in animal form!” 

Sirius rolled his eyes, “do you have to be picky about your books Pixie Dust?” She pouted at him, “Well they’ve gotta be a t least a little accurate… ‘specially if they’re coming from a wizard.” Sirius shook his head and went back to his book, Pyxis pressed play on her walkman and listened to the music as she dove back in to her story. 

Its been about a month since her first year at Hogwarts ended, a month since the incident with the mirror, and a month since she’d seen the robed figure. And honestly, she was getting a little bored with all the peaceful times. It was bloody June and she hadn’t been out of the house since the end of the May because of a sudden onslaught of rain storms. Pyxis had wanted to spend time with either Draco or Harry, maybe both, but the idiots had gone out and gotten colds for messing around in the rain too much. She’d contacted Hermione, but soon learned that she and her family were across the pond in the States. 

Susan and Hannah were busy on holiday as well, and Neville was with his parents on their Auror’s retreat. So it was safe to say that Pyxis had been left to her own devices. And it was safe to say that she was now extremely and utterly bored of it all. Closing her book she huffed and looked out the window, the wind was blowing so hard the trees in the forest were leaning to one side, flashes of lightning arced across the sky at irregular intervals. She dozed as the tape switched to David Bowie and sniggered as the song “Magic Dance” started to play. 

Clipping her walkman to her jeans she started jumping up and down to the music, shouting from the top of her lungs, “DANCE MAGIC DANCE!” Making Sirius look up from his book and smile fondly at her, Remus woke up from his nap and watched as Pyxis continued to belt out lyrics to music he couldn’t hear. A little disoriented, he turned to his husband and said, “Padfoot. Is she trying to do some crazy ritual an upper year at Hogwarts pretended to teach her?” Sirius laughed, “Moony really? You don’t recognize the song? She’s only made us watch the Labyrinth about a thousand times.” Remus blinked, “So… its not some random ritual?” Sirius shook his head, “No Moony. Its not a ritual, I think she’s just bored.” Remus nodded and went back to sleep.

Pyxis kept jumping up and down to the song when a sudden BOOM echoed through the house. She shrieked and froze mid-jump, her entire body tensing from the sound, and she fell off of the window seat. Sirius raised an eyebrow at his daughter, “Everything ok?” She winced as she got up, and after checking herself she said, “Yeah… the sound just scared me is all.” There was another loud BOOM and Pyxis shrieked again, this time running over to where Remus was sleeping and jumped on top of him. “OW!” 

She ignored his cry of pain and did everything she could to bury herself between him and the couch. Remus pulled away and said, “What’s going on?!” Sirius had an amused look on his face as he answered, “I think our daughter is afraid of thunder.” Remus looked down at the girl curled between him and the back of the couch, there was a third BOOM, and he watched as Pyxis curled into a ball. Trying to bury herself in the cushions, and clamping her hands tightly over her headphones. 

Remus sat up properly and started rubbing her back, Sirius put his book down and sat next to the both of them. Making sure Pyxis was in the middle he snickered, “You can run wild with centaurs, take on the full moon and its monthly transformations, knock out a boy twice your size because he insulted your god brother, but you can’t handle a little thunder?” She glared up at him, but another crack of thunder kept her from doing anything more.

Remus smiled warmly and carded his fingers through her hair, “Poor thing. She’s shaking.” Pyxis only clamped her hands tighter around her headphones, Sirius took pity on her and pushed play on her walkman. Making sure to turn the volume up to max to drown out the sound of the thunder. She relaxed as the music filtered in through the headphones, humming along and leaning into her father’s petting.

~*~  
When the thunder had died down, Pyxis finally turned off her music and lifted her head. Remus smiled sympathetically at her and brushed some hair out of her face, "Don't worry pup. The storm's gone now." She removed her headphones and looked out the window, the rain was only a drizzle now. Pyxis got up and placed her Walkman on the desk, “That wasn't funny.” Sirius smirked and pulled her into his lap and gave her a squeeze, “Nooo of course not... It was hilarious.” She pouted but snuggled deeper into her Dad's chest. Remus moved so that he was right next to his husband and wrapped an arm around the other two. All three of them falling asleep in minutes.

Sometime later, the three of them woke up to the sound of a wolf howling through the house, Pyxis and Remus jolted awake and went on high alert. Sirius yawned and scratched the back of his head, when the howling stopped, the other two relaxed and leaned back against the couch. Sirius snorted, “Are you two going to freak out every time our knocker sounds off?” Remus gave him a blank look, “Whose bright idea was it to attach a knocker that sounds like a foreign wolf. If we'd just gotten a normal knocker, then maybe you wouldn't have your husband and daughter freaking out every time we have company.” “Well when I did have the knocker set up to sound like one of you, the person it sounded like came running and tried to tear the knocker from the door.” The two continued to bicker as Pyxis huffed and made her way to the front door.

She hopped down the main stairwell and tensed when she heard the Howl again, after getting her instincts under control she walked up to the door and opened it. Dressed in very formal wizard robes, stood a man who looked a lot like her Dad. Cool grey eyes widened when they saw her, but his voice didn’t betray an surprise when he said, “I apologize, I must have the wrong house. Could you tell me where Sirius Bl- Lupin, where Sirius Lupin lives?” She blinked up at him and raised an eyebrow, “You're not lost, this is his house.” She took a larger step back to open the door wider, with a sweep of her arm she smiled and said, “Come on in.” The man stared at her, confused, but stepped in any way.

With him came the smell of rain, some kind of hair gel, grass clippings, and… dust? She took another whiff as the door closed behind her, her mind racing to figure out what the weird dust smell was. ‘not dirt, or cobwebs like in the attic. Its not mold. House dust?’ 

After wiping his boots on the mat, she took his coat and he looked around. The cottage was quaint. The entry hall opening up into the sitting room to the left, and what looked like a dining room to the right. A rather small, but elegant, grand staircase stood in front of him, the banisters curling at the edges without a decorative top. Perfect for sliding down if she did say so herself. Pyxis came back and looked up at the strange man, “Do you want a drink or something before I grab my dad?” The man shook his head, “No, thank you. Can you just get your… Dad?” She nodded and raced up the stairs.

Opening the door to the study, she found her Dad and her Father snogging heavily on the sofa she had left them on. Grimacing she shouted, “Stop that! We’ve got a guest!” Both men jumped up, knocking their foreheads together and swearing shortly after. Satisfied with herself, Pyxis crossed her arms and cocked her hips to one side, “That’s better,” turning to Sirius she said, “Dad there’s a guy looking for you, he’s downstairs right now.” Sirius rubbed his forehead, “Did he give a name?” She shook her head and Sirius groaned, “Pixie Dust you can’t just let people in like that.” 

She rolled her eyes,“I know that, and I never do, but Dad… he almost said your old name. You know, the one you got rid of after you married Father?” Sirius blinked, “He almost called me Black?” She nodded. Sirius was up like a shot and raced past Pyxis, nearly bowling her over in the process. When she had regained her balance, her blue eyes were wide as she turned back to her Father, “What was that about?”  
Remus got up and dusted an invisible piece of lint off of her shoulder, “Well… You know how you’re Dad has a brother right? One we don’t really talk about?” She nodded, “Well, I think. This is a guess pup, I think that the man you let in is ‘that’ brother.” Pyxis blinked, “You’re serious.” Remus squeezed his eyes shut and muttered, “No I’m Remus.” Pyxis clamped her mouth shut, but it did nothing to muffle her groan, her Father shook his head and took her hand, “Come on. Lets go meet your Dad’s side of the family alright?” 

~*~

As it turned out, the man Pyxis had let in was her Uncle Regulus, and he had finally decided to leave Number 12 Grimmauld Place for good. He’d had enough of his mother’s portrait constantly screeching that the rest of the family was a shame on the Black name. Plus… he seemed to really miss Sirius. Pyxis’s Dad had re-introduced the two properly and the two shook hands. She saw how he was a little hesitant with her, probably because of how different she looked to her parents. But she brushed it off, not every day you meet you’re estranged Uncle.

They sat him down in the living room and got him some tea to warm up. Sirius constantly firing questions about his life, asking where his brother was living, what he did for a living, and if he’d finally decided to settle down. “What like you? Didn’t it take you about two years with this one until—” Sirius cut him off by asking Regulus about the current “crowd” his brother was running with.

Pyxis learned that he was seeker for the Inverness Imps and was currently training with international players while his team was on the off season. He was about two years younger than Sirius, and that he’d been sorted into Slytherin when he went to Hogwarts. Regulus learned about this strange little girl that was his niece. How she was adopted as an infant, how she turned during the full moon, but wouldn’t kill a thing if given a choice. 

Sirius and Remus gave Regulus use of the guest room for the night, saying he could stay as long as he needed until he could get back on his own feet. They asked Pyxis to lead him to where the room was, as it was across from hers, and bid them goodnight. She skipped her way down the hall and pushed open the door to the room opposite hers, after pointing out where the bathroom was, she said goodnight and closed the door behind her. 

It was around midnight when the thunder started up again. Pyxis jolted up out of bed and clutched her stuffed elephant to her chest. Eyes blown wide, she looked around the room. There were no intruders, no strange people storming into her room, the house was clearly in tact… so what woke her up? A loud ‘CRACK-A-BOOM’ echoed through the house as a bright flash of lightning lit up the dark space. 

Pyxis screamed bloody murder and covered herself with the blankets. With one hand gripping her elephant tightly to her, she pulled one of the larger pillows over her head and curled into a ball. The thunder cracked again and she bit her lip to keep from screaming, it didn’t really work though. The thunder kept on roaring, and Pyxis just curled herself tighter and tighter, hoping that she’d grow exhausted enough to fall asleep. It happened enough as a wolf, maybe it could work here too. 

Her body trembled and she clenched her eyes shut just as another bolt of lightning arced past her window, signaling another bout of thunder to come shortly after. Pulling the blankets tighter around her, Pyxis did everything to muffle the sound of the thunder, the song from earlier came to mind, and she started to sing. Loudly. 

With the next bout of thunder, and her own screeching of song lyrics, she missed the sound of creaking floorboards, the squeak of her door opening. Missing the faint swish of a wand being whipped out, and the murmur of a spell being cast. What she did notice however, was the sudden silence that filled the room. Every flash of lightning that shone out into the room, Pyxis waited for the sudden onslaught of sound, the next verse of the song she remembered on the tip of her tongue. With her eyes squeezed shut, she told herself that she was alright, that there was nothing scary about a bit of clanging from the sky. Clanging that actually sounded like the demented version of Merlin’s second coming, along with armageddon, the apocalypse, and all four horsemen in their terrifying glory.

Pyxis would wait and listen intently for that horrible noise.

But it wold never come.

With all the caution of a newborn Unicorn, Pyxis pulled back her comforter and peeked out. The lightning still flashed, the rain still battered down on her window, but there was no sound whatsoever. She sat up as her brow furrowed, ‘Can thunder really just… stop?’ Pyxis’s trail of thought ended when she saw her door. A small beam of light filtering in from the hallway; she hopped off the bed and crept towards it. Clutching her elephant tight, she peeked out the door and into the hall. 

Across from her, the opposing room had its own door wide open, her Uncle Regulus was fixing up his bed and muttering, “Can’t even put up decent silencing charms. Merlin knows how they don’t here her screaming all the way in London.” She winced, thinking, ‘I wasn’t screaming that loudly… was I?’ The sound of shuffling stopped and Pyxis focused back on the room opposite. Her uncle had spotted her through the crack in her door, face a calm façade, but his eyes were dancing with hidden amusement. 

She huffed and opened her door fully, “… Thank you.” Regulus raised his eyebrows, “For what?” Pyxis shuffled her feet and relaxed her grip on her elephant, “For… For whatever it was that you did to stop the thunder. I’m guessing a major Silencing Charm?” Regulus rolled his eyes, “Honestly what are they teaching you kids in school these days? You’re a first year at Hogwarts correct? Even Hufflepuffs like you should know how to do a charm as basic as that.” 

The words stung, and she was tempted to defend her house, but she tamped it down, “I do know how to do that. In fact I’ve got top marks in charms, thing is, I’m not seventeen, so no magic outside of school.” Regulus blinked, “Oh… I forgot about that.” Pyxis feigned surprised, “Really? Well you know, since I’m the Hufflepuff, surely you should’ve remembered something as simple as that.” Regulus scowled at her, “I see Lupin raised you well.” She smirked, “You didn’t think Dad taught me everything did you?” Regulus rolled his eyes and walked to the door, “Goodnight Ms. Lupin.” 

She cringed, “Pyxis.” Regulus paused, “I beg your pardon?” She sighed, “Call me Pyxis, or Diana, which is my middle name. Ms. Lupin is my Grandma.” Regulus seemed a bit uncomfortable as he said, “Alright… Goodnight… Diana.” He pushed his door the rest of the way closed, and Pyxis waited until she heard the tell tale Click of the door jamb.

Pyxis rolled her eyes and closed her own doors, she’s never going to understand the Slytherins in her family. Never.  
~*~

The next day shone down bright and early on Lunar Point Cottage. Pyxis bounded down the main staircase, her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, aiming to make herself some eggs and bacon. Her parents had already beat her to the punch. Sirius was sitting with the Daily Prophet open on the dining table, his hair up in an even looser pony tail than her own. Remus was frying bacon and eggs on the stove, the smell of freshly brewed coffee and hot chocolate filtering through the air. 

She sat on the bench next to her dad and started to bat at his pony tail, jealous that his hair was so straight, as opposed to her own curly locks. Which constantly threatened to break her hair ties; to stop her batting, Sirius thought the best course of action was to tickle her. Pyxis shrieked as her Dad’s fingers brushed the sides of her torso, and when she tried to run away Sirius grabbed her around the middle and said, “Oh no. You play with my pony tail, you need to be punished.” 

Pyxis kept on squealing as Sirius tickled every spot he could reach: her sides, the backs of her knees, her feet when she wasn’t trying to kick him to get away. Remus rolled his eyes and smiled, it was going to be a normal Saturday morning then. 

The sound of heavy footsteps echoed down from the stairwell, Sirius slowed his tickle attack only a little bit, wondering what would happen when his younger brother entered. 

Regulus walked into the kitchen, drowsy eyed, and seemingly grumpy. But paused when he saw the family already there. Remus had set the table and was chastising the other two so they could eat; Pyxis was still desperately trying to get away from Sirius, but was unsuccessful as she was busy squealing and wriggling from his ticklish fingers.

He wasn’t sure what to make of this. His own family had never been this close, meal times were usually extremely formal affairs, even when Sirius had started to deviate. When Sirius and Pyxis finally settled down, Regulus cleared his throat to alert the others that he was there. Pyxis scrambled away from her Dad and ran to the opposite side of the table next to her father, she smiled at Regulus before digging into her plate of eggs and bacon. Remus snorted at his daughter and gestured to the seat next to Sirius, “Go ahead.” Regulus’s brow furrowed and Pyxis rolled her eyes, after swallowing a bit of scrambled egg she said, “Have a seat. We don’t bite… well, I don’t. Do you want some eggs?” 

With a little hesitation, Regulus sat next to Sirius and took an empty plate, looking a little uncomfortable as he asked Pyxis to pass the bacon. 

Breakfast was a bit awkward, but when Sirius asked Pyxis about Quidditch, it instantly became more lax. Both Regulus and Pyxis, having found a common point of interest, started arguing heatedly about proper flying technique.

In the middle of a heated debate about appropriate times to use the Wronski feint, Pyxis took a gulp of apple juice and spied something on her Uncle’s left forearm. From where she sat it looked like a scar, but when he shifted a bit to cut his eggs, she saw it in more deatail and noticed the strange design. A skull with a snake wrapped around it, the head of the snake exiting from the mouth of the skull. Pyxis leaned on top of the table to take a closer look, making all three older men pause in their breakfast when they realized what she had seen.

Regulus held his breath. Afraid of what she might do. People he’d come to know well had learned of his Dark Mark and ran. He’d seen other pardoned Death Eaters sneer at each other for a careless display of their mark. 

It wouldn’t be the first time someone turned away from him because of it.

Pyxis reached out and traced the edges of the pink mark and said, “Aunt Cissa has the same mark.” She looked up at him with curious eyes, “You were a Death Eater too?” Regulus eyed his niece. Obviously she knew what a Death Eater was, so she had to know the role they played in the war. She didn’t seem to know however, how close Regulus had been to Voldemort and his inner circle, “Yes I was.” She took his cool demeanor in stride and sat back down, fiddling with her fork as she asked, “Why?”  
Strange question that. Most people would have screamed and ran, or given him a look of disgust. But his niece. His sweet, Hufflepuff of a niece. With her messy curly hair, and those strange, wise, blue eyes. Only looked at him with a calm look, simply waiting for her answer.

Regulus covered his mark with his other hand, “It was Power I was after. And I got it.” Pyxis looked down at her plate, thinking for a moment before smiling slowly, “I guess you do gain a little power after you’ve seen your mistakes… And grown from them.” Regulus’s eyes went wide, Sirius dropped his fork, and Remus stared at his daughter, surprise clear as day on their faces. Pyxis snickered and took a bite of her eggs and cocked her head to the side, “Its true isn’t it?” While Sirius and Regulus continued to remain slack-jawed, Remus snapped out of it and wrapped an arm around his daughter, “Yes pup. You’re absolutely right.” 

Pyxis smiled and leaned into her Father’s hug, her hand pulling the collar of her pajamas away a bit. The silver teeth marks glimmering slightly in the morning light, “We’ve all got our own marks. Doesn’t mean they have to rule us for our whole life do they?” Regulus looked at his Dark Mark, then to the bite on his niece’s shoulder, to Remus’s scars, and his own brother’s seemingly flawless skin. Sirius rolled his eyes and flicked a bit of bacon at his daughter, “Curse you, you wise old Hufflepuff. Now you make me wish I had a scar of my own.” She smirked, “I’m sure Father here can help with that. You seemed particularly banged up after I came home from school.” 

All three men choked and yelled, “PYXIS!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for Reading! Kudos and Comments appreciated!  
> Come find me on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bio-blegh


	4. A Thestral, Quidditch, and A Cousin Needing to be Hit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm back from Camping! I'm so tired, but I wanted to finish this chapter and get it up. So, Second year for little Pixie, the worlds have never seen a more emotional little girl. No moonlit nights today, but there's plenty of strangeness enough for her to experience.

Pyxis was walking down the main road of Hogsmeade towards the train station, wrapped up tightly with a warm coat and her scarf. She had an hour before the Hogwarts Express was due to show up, so she thought it prudent to buy a bunch of chocolate before her cousin and god brother showed up. 

Sitting on one of the benches near the tracks, she opened her bag of sweets and pulled out the first thing her hand grabbed. A chocolate frog package wriggled a little, the frog inside attempting to break free from the foil wrapping. She smiled and opened the package, catching the little bugger before it tried to make a break for the ground. With a quick toss in the air, the frog lands in her open mouth and she crunches the chocolate between her teeth. The caramel filling oozing out onto her tongue and she “hmmms” in appreciation. 

Its a bit odd enjoying the chocolate that way, but Pyxis likes to play with her food. No matter how many times her Dad has tried to tell her not to. She pulls out the card inside the package and flipped it over, a photo of Newt Scamander winks at her from his frame and she grinned. 

Not a lot of Hufflepuffs were particularly famous, but those that were always seemed to outdo the other houses in their achievements. Placing the card in her pocket, she rummages around for another frog, when lumbering footsteps come from behind her. Pyxis turned to see Hagrid making his way up the road, his footsteps making the birds several feet ahead of him take flight in fear. She grins and waved at the Half-giant, glad to see him after three months of summer break. 

Hagrid sidled up next to her and grinned through his bushy beard, “ ‘lo Pixie.” She returned the grin, “ ‘lo Hagrid, taking us on the boats again?” The half-giant shook his head, “Nah. Them boats are fer the firs’ years. An’ if I’m figurin’ correctly, yer a second year.” Pyxis sniggered, “Yeah thats right. So what are the boys and I riding in this year?” Hagrid’s grin grew wider, “Why don’ I show ya. Need someone knowledgeable abou’ magic creatures in yer group. Who better than a magical creature herself.” 

Pyxis rolled her eyes, “Alright Hagrid, lets see what you’ve got.” He nods and started lumbering over to the other side of Hogsmeade station, she had to run to keep up, and nearly ran into him when he stopped. But when she stepped around him it was well worth it. 

Elegant carriages were lined up on the path to Hogwarts. Each carriage baring the crest and sporting one of the four colors of houses. The ornate wheels were about shoulder height with her standing next to them, the sleek wood polish making the carriage look like it was glowing. It reminded her of the logo on one of the Muggle banks she and her Father had passed by on their way through London, what was it called again? She snapped her fingers, Wells Fargo.

The most interesting thing about the carriages though, were what was pulling them. 

Horses black as night, with large, leathery, bat wings, snorted and flicked their tails about to throw off flies. Their eyes were as white as the full moon, not a pupil or iris in sight. When one caught her staring, it snorted and pawed the ground threateningly. Pyxis had been around centaurs long enough to know the creature, whatever it was, was telling her to back off. She stepped away and looked towards Hagrid, “What are they?” 

Hagrid’s eyes widened, “Ye can see ‘em?” Pyxis’s brow furrowed, “Of course I can see them, why wouldn’t I be able to?” The half-giant glanced between her and the strange skeletal horses, “Pixie… them’s Thestrals. An’ ya can only see a Thestral if ya’ve seen—” She interrupted him, “Death.” Her wand slid out of its holster, firm and smooth in her palm. 12 inches, Cypress wood, Thestral hair core, firm but fluid.

Pyxis’s eyes were a little wide. So this is what a Thestral looked like, she’d smelled them on her monthly runs through the Forbidden Forest, but she’d never encountered them before. It had kept up her glimmering hope that the man she saw die all those years ago hadn’t really died. 

Guess she was wrong.

The sound of the Hogwarts Express rumbling into the station caught the both of them off guard. Both Hagrid and Pyxis jumped, making Pyxis move slightly closer to the Thestrals, and making one of them whinny. Hagrid had to go over and lead the first years to the boats, muttering an apology and lumbering off to call the first years over. She pulled out another chocolate from her bag, another frog, and quickly pops it into her mouth. The warmth and sweetness of it soothing her.

Harry and Draco hop off the train and see her by the carriages. They wave enthusiastically and saunter over, confident about the new school year. Pyxis smiles at them and hands each a chocolate, “Ready for second year?” The boys nodded and opened the carriage door, “Pretty cool that the carriages move themselves. Wonder what kind of magic is used to make them do that.” Pyxis blinked up at Draco and then turned to the front of the carriage. The Thestrals were still there, whinnying softly, ears turned backwards, probably listening in on their conversation.

Guess she was the only one who could see them then. 

She hopped in after Draco and sat across from them, “Probably some really old magic. Maybe the same kind that makes the Castle move and the walls pretend they’re doors.” Both boys nod and the carriage begins to move, bumping and jostling along the dirt path, up to their second year at Hogwarts. 

~*~

It was about three weeks into the new term when Cedric Diggory announced that they would be starting up the House Team tryouts for Quidditch. The Basement started to buzz with excitement, old team members lighting up at the chance to play again, new prospects buzzing and bouncing all around the room. Diggory walks over to the couch that Pyxis was sitting on, she’s bouncing up and down excited to have her chance at the Seeker position. She grinned brightly as he sat down next to her, “I hear you’re after my spot as Seeker?” Pyxis kept bouncing, “Yup. So watch out Diggory, or you’ll be out of a position for the rest of the year.” 

Diggory laughed, “Did you forget Lupin? I’m also a fantastic Chaser, and captain of the team.” She rolled her eyes, “The last game you played chaser you couldn’t hold the quaffle for more than two minutes.” Diggory cringed, “Yeah alright I’ll give you that. But I will see you on the pitch tomorrow?” She nodded, “Get ready to eat twigs Diggory.” He shook his head and laughed, “We’ll see about that Lupin.” He ruffled her hair and got up to talk to some of the older team players.

Pyxis smirked, she was going to make the team. She knew she would.

~*~

Diggory had all the prospects line up near the goal posts on the pitch for tryouts, regardless of what position they wanted to play. He said that each of them would be placed under the eye of one of the senior players on the team to see if they could work the position they wanted. Pyxis and two others were trying out for the position of Seeker, and out of the three of them, she was the youngest. The other two were fourth years trying out for the third time to get themselves out of the reserve Seeker position. 

Pyxis gripped her Nimbus tightly and took a steadying breath, she could do this, she could do this. Unwillingly, an image of a little train engine trudging up a hill came to mind. Diggory grinned at the three of them and leaned against his broom, “We’re going to do some basic drills, just to see how well you fly. Then, we’re going see how you fly when the rest of the team is about, dodge a couple bludgers, avoid the chasers. And finally, we’ll see how you fair against the snitch.” The older of the two fourth years rolled their eyes good-naturedly, “Can’t we just head straight to the last part Diggory? It would take off a lot of practice time.” 

Diggory shook his head, “No. We’ve got a newbie trying out. So to be fair we have to go through the same drills we always have.” The fourth years shrugged and glanced down at her, Pyxis wasn’t sure if they were fine with it or frustrated.

He had them mount up and follow him around the pitch, making them practice several maneuvers used in a Quidditch game. Pyxis let her nerves fall away and followed close behind Diggory, she spiraled and banked in tandem with the older student. Diggory tried shaking them off by diving and making a couple sharp turns near the beaters. And while the fourth years were forced to slow to make the turns, Pyxis just sped ahead and raced alongside him. The two of them spiraled and spun all across the Quidditch pitch, sometimes diving in between the chasers and barely missing bludgers to test how far they could push each other. 

When the third drill came around, Pyxis was more than ready to catch the snitch. Diggory had them fly up above the hoops before releasing the snitch, it flitted around the four of them for a bit before diving for the ground. The three seekers flew after it, Diggory flying close behind to monitor their technique and form. 

Pyxis flew as fast as her Nimbus would let her go, pushing herself so much that she was almost vertical on her descent to the ground. The other Hufflepuffs were close behind her, not willing to give up the position that easily. The snitch leveled out a few feet before the ground, forcing Pyxis to pull up at the last moment so she wouldn’t go crashing into the ground. She urges her broom forward, into the fray of chasers trying to steal the quaffle from one another, and doesn’t flinch when a bludger flies just a bit too close to her broom. 

She does another spiral as the snitch flies upward towards the goal posts. The spinning sensation makes her a little dizzy, but doesn’t make her stop. She flies above the posts, chasing the snitch into the clouds high above the pitch, nothing else on her mind but catching that little golden ball. 

When the sun peeks out behind the white fluff, it catches a bit on the snitch and sends a glare into Pyxis’s eyes. She covers them with her arm and halts mid-flight to make sure she doesn’t run into a bird or something. When her eyes open again, she’s utterly alone above the clouds. 

The snitch is gone again, probably used the sun to dive back to the ground beneath the cloud cover. She huffed and leant her broom downward, damn snitches were more sentient than she thought. When she comes into view of the pitch again, she sees that Diggory has said ball in hand. She sidled up next to the fifth year and raised an eyebrow, “What’s with the funny look?” Diggory laughed, “Were you paying any attention to your surroundings at all?” 

She glared at him, “Of course I was. I didn’t run into anybody, and I avoided that bludger!” Diggory raised his hands in mock surrender, “Alright calm down. Lupin take a look around, there’s no one left on the pitch.” Her eyes widened at that, he was right. All the chaser’s were gone, the keeper’s left, the beaters were still there but only because a rogue bludger got free of its restraints. She blinked, “Where are the other two?” Diggory smirked, “the minute that snitch was in the air you were off like a shot. They tried to keep up, but you fly well Lupin. Obscenely well.” 

Blushing, she let her curls cover her face, “ ‘m not that good.” Diggory laughed, “Lupin you absolutely floored them with your flying, and they’ve been the reserve seekers for years! They knew when they were beat.” She blushed even more and tightened her grip on her broom, “They were reserve seekers?” He nodded and ruffled her hair, “Have been ever since I joined the team, and now I think I’m gonna be joining them. I don’t think I could keep up with the moves you’ve got.” If she wasn’t red before, Pyxis would bet a hundred galleons that she was a tomato now. 

Diggory grinned and gave her a pat on the back, “I expect you to be on the pitch on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays around four o’clock for the rest of the term, savvy?” She blinked once and faced the older boy, “I made the team?” He laughed, “Of course you did Lupin. I’d be out of my mind not to accept you. Now come on, how we celebrate with everyone else down in the basement? I’m sure we can ask the house elves for some cake.” Pyxis perked up, “What kind of cake?” 

Side by side, the two of them flew back down to the pitch and headed to the locker rooms. Diggory got her locker key from Madam Hooch and handed it to her, “Put your stuff away and we’ll meet up back in the Basement. We should have the party in full swing by then.” She rolled her eyes, but took the key anyways; a party in the Hufflepuff Basement was equivalent of a six-year old’s sleep over. And that’s with the upper years bringing alcohol. 

Not that she minded.

With a smile Pyxis stored her Nimbus in her new locker along with her gloves. She’d have to owl her parents tomorrow to tell them that she made the team, and then she’d ask the boys about their own tryouts to see if they made it. 

She grinned, “I knew I could do it.” And the little engine in her head tooted in joy. 

~*~ 

Around Halloween time, Pyxis was on her way to the Great Hall when she quite literally ran into Moaning Myrtle. The icy feeling of the ghost washed over her and she shudders, rubbing her arms to warm herself up she glared at the ghost girl, “Myrtle! What was that for?” The dead girl giggled and smirks, “Well, how else was I supposed to get your attention?” Pyxis huffed, “I don’t know, how about actually calling out to me? You can still do that right?” Myrtle glared at her, “Oh sure. Make fun of the dead girl, she only knows how to moan and haunt a bathroom!” 

Pyxis pinched the bridge of her nose, she got along with Myrtle generally, why on today of all days did the ghost choose to be moody. “You’re right, I’m sorry, that was insensitive,” Myrtle looked appeased with that, “What exactly are you doing outside of your bathroom though?” The ghost grinned, “A little birdy told me to show you something. Said that you’d be needed soon because of it.” Pyxis’s brow furrowed, “You willingly left your bathroom because someone asked you?” 

Myrtle shook her head, her face growing grave, “Not just anyone. An old… friend.” Her face brightens and she floats past Pyxis, “Now come on, we’ve got things to see.” Pyxis was torn, she’s a little hungry, and dinner will be over by the time she gets done with Myrtle. “I’ll fly through you if you don’t hurry up.” The threat is enough for Pyxis to forgo dinner, she quickly turns around and runs after the ghost girl. 

After several moving stairwells and a couple of misleading hallways, Myrtle led Pyxis to the hallway just outside her bathroom. The whole floor is flooded with about an inch of water, tiny waves lapping up the sides of the walls. Pyxis cringed and tried to keep her shoes from the edge of the water. The smell of stagnant water fills her nostrils, there’s something else hiding under it though. Something sharper, almost metallic.

Pyxis frowns up at Myrtle, “You took me away from dinner so that I could look at your crying mess? That’s brilliant Myrtle a real work of art. Now the castle will erode away much faster than normal.” The ghost flies through her in retaliation, “AH!” Pyxis rubs her arms furiously to warm herself, “Alright I’ll behave, for the love of Helga stop doing that.” Myrtle smirked, “Its not about the flooding. For once I didn’t do that. You’re supposed to look into the water.” Pyxis raised an eyebrow at the ghost, “I have to look into the water?” 

Myrtle nodded, “You’re wearing that strange ring right?” Pyxis covers her hand, the stone brushing against her hand, “Yes.” Myrtle floats over the deeper part of the flooded hall, “So look.” Still confused, Pyxis walks to the edge of the water and looks in, there’s nothing really. Just the reflection of herself, Myrtle, and the wall… 

The wall.

There are words written on the wall, backwards in the water, but there they are… and they’re written in blood. 

She looks back up at the wall, the stone is clean bright in the low light of the sconces, not a trace of the blood she’s seen in the water. Pyxis looks again, there are the words clear as day. Maybe she’s hallucinating, reaching out, she dips a finger in to make it ripple to try to clear the words away. The moment her hand touches the water, there’s a bright flash of light, the feeling of a gentle hand taking hold of her wrist, a tingle of magic runs from the ring on her hand and up her arm.

Pyxis squeezes her eyes shut and waits for the bright spots to fade before opening them again. Her hand is damp, and so are her knees, she must’ve fallen into the puddle when the light blinded her. Standing up she wipes the water off on her robes and looks up.

The words.

The blood.

The sharp smell.

They’re dripping slightly, and look freshly painted. Her eyes widen as she reads, “The Chamber of Secrets is open. Enemies of the Heir beware.” A trickle of fear runs down her back and she steps away, a scream builds in her throat before it tears, unbidden, out of her mouth. There’s the sound of running and three students appear from around the corner. Pyxis turns, eyes wide with fear as she sees Hermione, Harry, and a strange red-headed boy rushing over to her. 

Harry catches sight of her and his eyes widen, “You?!” She’s confused for a moment, before some of the fringe on his forehead moves and she sees the lightning bolt scar. She’s not at home. Without meaning to she says, “Me.” The three of them stop right next to her and Hermione asks, “Was that you screaming?” Pyxis nods and pointed, “There’s blood on the wall.” The three of them turn and she watches as their eyes widen at the words, the red-head whispers, “What does that mean?” She doesn’t get the chance to answer.

The hall floods with a sudden influx of students, and all of them have taken notice of the writing. Pyxis tears her eyes away, wanting to find an exit, when she sees something equally as horrifying. One of the wall sconces has a cat hanging by its tail, looking frozen mid-fall. And not just any cat, its Mrs. Norris. 

Grabbing hold of Harry’s shoulder, she motions for him to look where Mrs. Norris is, wanting someone else to prove what she’s seeing is real. A drawling voice pierces the air, “Enemies of the Heir beware? You’ll be next Mudbloods.” Pyxis froze, she knows that voice all too well, and hearing that word being uttered by it… 

Searching him out, she finds Draco standing next to two other boys, both slightly larger than him, with an ugly smirk on his face. Anger runs through her veins and she makes her way over to him, “What did you just say?” Draco gives her a cold look, “You heard me. The Mudbloods are going to get it, its obvious who the writer’s targeting. Thought I’d make it clear though, for those who are a bit… slow.” Pyxis clenches her hands into fists, not once has Draco sounded so bigoted, and she’s pretty sure that he’s different here like Harry is; but that doesn’t mean she’ll let him get away with saying something so foul.

“Say that word again, I dare you.” Draco smiled cruelly, the two boys next to him crack their knuckles in warning, but she ignores them. “Mud—” Before he’s finished the first syllable she clocks him right on the nose, a satisfying crunch coming from under her fist. He’s just lucky she didn’t use her ringed hand. 

The two older boys try to grab hold of her in order to retaliate. But she manages to step back in time, they keep reaching and she trips over her robes. Pyxis falls back and lands in the water, another bright flash of light, another grip, another tingle of magic. 

When her eyes open again, she’s back in her hall. The place is completely empty, there are no words on the walls, no bigoted cousins, no Harry and his strange scar. She’s soaked through thanks to the fall, and her palms ache from her landing. Myrtle floats over, “So its true. Hmmph. I didn’t think there’d ever be one, guess I was wrong. Well, I hope you did what you needed to.” The ghost girl lets out a moan, probably to for dramatics, and floats back into her bathroom. Pyxis blinks once, her left hand aching from the punch, but it was worth it.

She gets up out of the puddle and brushes herself off. Her stomach growls loudly, reminding her that she’s missed dinner thanks to this little excursion. With a sigh she heads to the Basement, hoping to stop by the kitchens and ask the House-Elves if she could have some leftovers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for Reading! Kudos and Comments appreciated!  
> Come find me on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bio-blegh


	5. Boys and Basilisks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok, well here we are. On a thursday no less. Remember when Harry ran around an antechamber, fighting a Basilisk, BY HIMSELF?! Yeah that's not gonna happen, not if Pyxis has anything to say about it. By the way, I've just noticed she's extremely impulsive whenever it comes to traversing the worlds, I wonder how that's going to develop, and I'm writing about her.

A month after the end of Spring Break, Pyxis decided to wander through the halls of Hogwarts on a whim. She skipped down the hall leading to Myrtle’s bathroom, humming the tune to The Bear Necessities from the Jungle Book and fiddling with her ring. She kept going down the hall, passing the flood of water that was almost always present outside the bathroom, but stopped when she heard a sound coming from inside.

It was subtle, the sound of a body sliding against the stone. She stopped in the hall and listened carefully, whatever it was, it was huge. The sound of slime and muck moving along with powerful muscles, an occasional hissing noise interrupting the slipping and sliding. Then came the sound of a rustle, looking up, Pyxis spotted a darkly robed figure turning the corner, following the sound of the hissing. The robes seemed familiar to her and she chased after them. 

Before turning the corner, her foot stepped in something wet and the flash of light was back again. She’d thought that if this light ever happened again, she’d know better than chase after it. But she was curious, and it wasn’t as if she ever had real control in theses situations. The light blinded her, and she was forced to cover her eyes with one arm; not caring in particular about what could happen when the light faded.

Pyxis races around the corner and ran head first into a pale boy with blonde hair. The two of them crash to the ground, the blonde haired person was swearing profusely and snapped at her, “Watch where you’re going!” She’s tempted to smack the other person, but keeps herself in check, there’s a robed figure to find afterall. She gets up and rubs the sore spot on her head, “sorry wasn’t looking. Did anyone come by this way?” The blonde haired boy gets up, “I don’t know what you’re on about. No one but me, but clearly you couldn’t see that, so might as well say again, No. There was no one down here.” 

Again, she is extremely tempted to clock that mocking look off his face, but she takes a breath and listens again. The slithering and hissing is louder now, sounding a bit like a rasping voice, calling out to something… calling out to someone.

She whirls around, eyes growing wide, “Its behind us.” The blonde haired boy raised an eyebrow, “What?” She covers his mouth with her hand, unsure of where the thing is, but not willing to let it know where they are by him talking. The blonde boy, the other Draco she realizes, gives her a dark look. But the next round of hissing and slithers makes him stay quiet. If he can hear it now, Merlin knows how close it is to the two of them.

Pyxis has them both back up, they hide in an alcove just behind a suit of armor. ‘Was that there before?’ She shrugs and makes sure Draco is safely behind her when the hissing gets closer. She’s removed her hand from his mouth, pretty confident that Draco is scared enough to know not to speak; and peeks around the alcove. 

She was right when she thought that the thing was huge.

A massive, green, scaly body slithers through the hall she was just running through. A trail of blood following along just to the side of the moving mass. The smell of sewage and blood permeates the air, a trail of dark muck is left on the floor after the creature is gone from the hall. Pyxis bites her tongue, making sure not to scream, and pulls herself back into alcove. Draco is pale and shaking against the cold stones, he sinks down to the ground and pulls his knees to his chest. He’s scared out of his mind.

Pyxis sits down next to him and places a hand on his knee. His eyes flick over to her, clearly having forgotten she was there and she offers a comforting smile, “Hey… Are you ok?” He scowls at her, “Ok that was a stupid question. I admit that. But do you need to go to the Hospital wing? Or are you alright to head back to your dorm?” Draco takes a breath, “… I’m alright. I can make it on my own.” She nods and steps out from the alcove, the smell of sewage is less pungent now, but the blood is still sharp. Her stomach roils a little and she clenches her fist, she’s eaten a rabbit raw before, a little blood should not make her nauseous.

“You’re going after it aren’t you?”Draco’s voice startles her and she turns around.

He’s standing behind her, grey eyes tinted with fear, brow furrowed, and nose slightly skewed from the punch she had given him earlier in the year. She nods, “Yeah. I think I should. You could help you know, get one of the Professors. Tell them about the creature and that I’ve gone to find out where it went.” He debates the option, probably weighing the pros and cons of doing what she says. Its cute really. Her Draco is never indecisive, always opinionated, and bloody stubborn when he wants to be. Its a little refreshing.

He’s about to say something when the sound of running feet echoes down the pathway. Both of them turn to look, and find two young boys in their year running up the hall. One with dark hair and green eyes, the other with bright red hair and blue eyes. The scar on the black haired boy sticks out at her and the Red-head makes the two of them stop, “Its you!” The corner of Pyxis’s mouth twitches, “Yeah, me.” Harry’s eyes widen, “You’re with Malfoy again.” She glances to the boy behind her, “Yes, so?” 

Red-head’s eyes narrow, “didn’t you clock him? Why would you be with someone you knocked into next week?” She snorts, “Did I really?” Draco huffs and stepped up next to her, “She did not, as you so eloquently put, ‘knock me into next week.’ I let her have that punch, its unlike a gentlemen to hit a girl.” Pyxis smirked and glances over at him, “And a lady doesn’t start fights, only finishes them. But clearly we both missed that memo.” Harry and Red-head laugh as Draco scowls darkly at her, she shrugs and turns back to the other boys. A small smirk dancing on her lips. 

The sound of scales sliding over stone catches her attention, and the image of the massive sliding body from earlier stands out in Pyxis’s mind. Both she and Harry freeze, turning towards the sound. Its coming from further down the hall now, the trail its left behind turning round the corner into one of the open doorways. Her voice only wavers a little when she says, “Its still here.” Harry’s eyes widen, “You can hear it too then? You can hear the voice?” She shook her head, “No. I can just hear it moving, Draco and I saw it sliding through the hall earlier and I thought it would be a good idea to see where it went.” 

“She’s mad for thinking that.” Pyxis glared at Draco before turning back to Harry, “What do you mean voice? Are you saying it can talk?” Harry nodded, “Its a Basilisk, its been petrifying muggleborns all over the school, we just found out and we plan on doing something about it.” She crosses her arms and cocks her head to her side, sensing a half-arsed plan about to be followed through, “You mean like how you dealt with Quirrel last year? Wait a minute, scratch that, didn’t I do most of the work there?” He winced at that, “Look I’m really sorry about that, but… well he was a really timid teacher, how was I supposed to know Voldemort was stuck to the back of his head?” 

She rolled her eyes, “I didn’t mean that part, even I didn’t know about that… thing. But you could’ve done a bit more than stand there and let him knock my brains out.” Harry snorted, “Well you’re here aren’t you?” Pyxis pinched the bridge of her nose, using all of her self-control to not say how stupid he is for running into a situation blind. Granted she was just to do that as well, but she wasn’t going to let him know that, “Please tell me you at least have a plan.” Both Red-head and Harry remain quiet, she groans, “Why am I not surprised.” She turns to Draco who’s watching the conversation with both confusion and amusement, “Can you tell one of the Professors where we’re going. That way at least they know where to look for our bodies.” 

Harry made an indignant noise, “We’re not gonna die!” She gives him a blank look, “I had my head nearly broken in from the last time we did something like this, and Voldemort had ordered Quirrel to kill me. If we actually make it to the Basilisk’s lair in one piece, then I’ll have hope.” Thoroughly chastised, Harry clamped his mouth shut. Draco on the other hand decided to make the decision she gave him earlier, “I’m going with you. Have the Weasel alert an Professor.” Pyxis raised an eyebrow, “You were just terrified now by only looking at the Basilisk move, and you think you can help figure out where it went?” Draco scowled at her, “I was not scared.” She gave him a pointed look, “Quiet, I’ve got some sage advice that you’re going to want to hear.” 

“You plan on following a Basilisk, which is one of the most deadly magical creatures in existence. With Potter, disaster extraordinaire, and Weasel who has a defective wand. How long do you think you’ll last in there?” Pyxis bit her lip and let out a sigh, “Ok you’re right there, but what else can you do that they can’t. I mean we’re bloody second years, its not like we’ve learned attack spells in Defense.” She hears Harry snort behind her and Draco rolls his eyes, “Its better than nothing. And my wand works a good deal better than Weasel’s.” 

Harry steps up, “Stop calling him that, his name is Ron and he’s a lot better than you’ll ever be.” The the air thickens with animosity between the two boys and Pyxis realizes just how intense the relationship between these two is. Its extremely different than what she’s experienced back home, but the two of them still have such a strong bond, she doesn’t know how to handle it. Red-head, Ron she thinks, looks to be in the same boat; he looks like he wants to end the moment, but doesn’t want to get caught in the cross-fire. Pyxis crosses her arms and smirks, she knows the perfect way to break up the tension, “So are you two going to kiss or are we going to find ourselves a Basilisk?” Both boys jump away from each other, their faces flushing bright red; Ron starts laughing and Pyxis smiles.

Draco glared at her, “Why would you even think of such a thing!” She shrugged, “It seemed like the only thing that would get your focus back, plus you really did look like you were going to kiss for a moment there.” Ron stuck a finger in his throat and gags, “Ok, you know what you guys seem to have this handled. I’m going to find a professor to save your sorry arses, so bye.” Ron straightens up, turns around, and races off down the hall, disappearing around the first turn he comes to.

Pyxis turns to the other boys, “I’m going to ask again, are we going to catch ourselves a Basilisk or what?” 

~*~

After following the trail of blood, opening a hidden door behind a sink in Myrtle’s bathroom, and sliding down the most disgusting tunnel she’s ever seen. Pyxis, Draco, and Harry all arrive in the underground labyrinth that is the Hogwarts pipes system. They bring out their wands and cast Lumos to help see their way through the dim gloom of the pipes, as they walk, their feet occasionally kick rocks and other questionable things into the puddles of water off to the side. Pyxis is overwhelmed with the smell of mold and decay that permeates the air, she’s covered her nose with her free hand and follows the boys at a more sedate pace.

Finally they reach what looks like an antechamber of sorts. A large stone stature of Salazar Slytherin decorates the back wall, pillars depicting large snakes line the sides, and two pools of water lap against either side of the stone walkway they stand on. A red haired girl lies still at the end of the walkway, her hair splayed all around her head, her skin paler than marble, her veins sticking out from underneath. Harry rushes over yelling, “Ginny!” 

Pyxis and Draco keep up behind him, canceling their Lumos and on high alert in case there’s any sign of the Basilisk. Harry is shaking the Ginny-girl’s shoulder, yelling at her to get up, prodding her with his wand, even smacking her cheek lightly to get a response. Pyxis kneels down next to him and gets a whiff of the girl.

She’s alive, but only barely. Her heart is slowed to a fraction of what it should be, the blood in her veins moving like sludge instead of a river. She turns to the panicked boy, “Harry we need to get her to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey will know what to do.” He nods once and starts to pick the unconscious girl up, Draco calls out, “Whoever you are. Don’t think you can hide, I can see you plain as day.” She looks up, out of the shadows comes a dark haired boy with dark eyes. A grim smile dances on his lips and he struts over to where the three of them are, “Well this isn’t the reception I was expecting.” Pyxis smells an intense amount of Dark Magic coming from the boy and whips out her wand. His face is familiar somehow, but she can’t place him, she steps in front of Harry and Draco and says, “Who are you? What are you doing down here?” 

The older boy cocks his head to the side, “Shouldn’t I be asking you that little girl?” Her grip on her wand tightens, where has she seen him before? “Tom!” Pyxis turns around, Harry has a relieved look on his face as he says, “Tom, thank Merlin you’re here. Quick, you need to help us get Ginny to the Hospital Wing, I think she’s dying.” Pyxis raised an eyebrow, “Harry you know him?” Harry nods, “I’ve been talking with him for a while now, well writing is more like it. But he can help, he told me who let the Basilisk out the first time.” Pyxis turns back to the older boy, only to find he’s somehow moved over to where Harry is. The older boy, Tom, bends down and picks something up off the ground, its Harry’s wand. 

And that’s when it clicks.

Tom… Tom. Marvolo. Riddle. The boy who was in an orphanage for many years. The boy who would turn into one of the Darkest wizards the world had ever seen. The boy who was killed by her Uncle James and Aunt Lily, with the help of her own parents. The boy was currently pointing a wand at an unknowing boy who was trying to help and unconscious girl. Without thinking, Pyxis starts flinging every hex and curse she knows at the older boy, startling both Harry and Draco. The older boy blocks everything she throws at him and retaliates with a spell that knocks the wind out of her, and throws her off of the walkway and into the water. 

She flails a bit before resurfacing and pulls herself back onto the walkway, “Harry! Draco! Get away from him! That’s Voldemort!” But it seems they’ve already figured it out, Draco is in the same position as Pyxis, only in the opposite pool, Harry is on the ground, clutching his abdomen and several feet away from Ginny. Voldemort has a feral smile on his face and he starts hissing, the mouth of Salazar opens behind him and Pyxis watches, horrified, as the Basilisk emerges. 

Harry cries out to them, “Don’t look into its eyes!” And begins to hiss just like Voldemort. Only the Basilisk isn’t listening, and it slithers ever closer to the dark haired boy; Pyxis starts to run over to Harry, taking care not to look at the gargantuan creature approaching them, and helps to get Harry up and out of the way. They both take off running, Harry trying to lead the Basilisk away, Pyxis towards Draco to help him out of the water. Harry is still hissing like a madman, the sounds so utterly like the Basilisk that she can’t tell which is which. 

Voldemort gives a dark laugh and says, “You’re parseltongue won’t work Potter. It only obeys me!” Pyxis yanks Draco forward, they run away from the monster behind Harry and she helps him climb up the stone wall to try and get away. Harry comes up behind her and she helps him climb too, the Basilisk is only a few feet away now, and Pyxis doesn’t have time to start climbing with them. Screwing her eyes shut she fires a stinging hex at the face of the creature and runs away, hoping that its focused on her and will give the boys time to come up with something. She hears the monster chase after her, feels through the vibrations in the ground when it tries to snap her up. 

Her chest begins to burn, and a stitch has begun to form in her side, all of her running as a wolf and she can’t outpace a bloody snake. Wait a minute. She’s a Bloody WEREWOLF! Stopping she closes her eyes, turns around, and charges straight at the Basilisk. This is either going to be brilliant, or she’s going to die a horrible, painful, death. The Basilisk seems startled by her sudden charge, but quickly recovers. Relying on her nose and her ears, she manages to dodge the poison teeth and climb up onto the monster’s back. When she’s sure that she’s nowhere near its eyes, she opens her own and starts squirming up towards its head. 

The Basilisk rears up and starts thrashing around, desperately trying to shake her off. She digs her fingers into its scales and holds on for dear life, from somewhere behind her Draco shouts, “Are you insane?!” The Basilisk slams back down and tries to drown her by diving into the pools into the side, but even though the Basilisk is fully submerged, only the edges of her robes become damp. While the creature is distracted she calls back, “Maybe! But at least I’m doing something! What the bloody hell are you two doing?!” She crawls further up the snake and finally reaches its crown. Unsure of what to do next she shifts the wand in her hand a bit before realizing where she is on the snake. Pyxis grips the piece of cypress tightly and mutters, “Please Merlin, let this work.”

Using all her strength, she jabs the piece of wood directly into one of the Basilisk’s eyes, blood and warm jelly-like substance coats her hand as the Basilisk screams in pain. It thrashes wildly and Pyxis holds tight to her wand and the crown of the snakes head, when the thrashing has lessened a little, she dislodges the wand and jabs it into the other eye. It screams once more, this time succeeding in throwing Pyxis off of it, making her land back in the pool and inhale a lungful of water. 

She breaches the surface again, hacking and coughing to try and get all of the mildewy water out of her system. The Basilisk is still screaming in pain, snapping at the air and writhing around on the ground, its completely blind now. “You did it!” She grins up at Harry, his eyes wide with relief and joy, Voldemort scowls darkly at her and fires a spell. She dives back into the water to avoid it. When she resurfaces, for the third time, she sees Voldemort is saying something to Harry, she pulls herself up out of the murky water and stills a bit. There’s something lying in the center of the walkway that wasn’t there before. 

Its long and glimmering, the blade shining with a magical light, the stones set in the hilt somehow glittering in the gloom of the room. She hears Harry and Draco jump down from their perch and turns, they’re both running on opposite sides of the Basilisk, probably trying to confuse it. She makes for the sword, thinking that maybe she could end it all with a single swing, but the moment she touches the handle her skin burns. She reels back, blowing on her burning hands to sooth the pain. She turns back to the boys, they’re only a few feet away so she points to the sword, “One of you run over here and pick this bloody Sword up. We might not have a chance otherwise.” 

Draco is the first to bolt over, he leans down, eyes lighting up when he sees the beautiful sword; but just like with Pyxis his hands come away burned. Glaring he says, “Did you put a curse on the bloody thing?!” She shook her head, “What would be the point?! Oh you know why don’t I enchant a random Fucking sword thats appeared in the middle of us trying not to get killed, just for kicks!” He glowers at her and Harry comes up, “I’d hate to break up your banter, but how about we try and go back to not dying.” Without any hassle, or burning for that matter, Harry picks up the sword and starts running back down the tunnel. 

Wide eyed, Pyxis and Draco stare at each other for a second before remembering the giant snake that’s behind them and race after Harry. They take run down several tunnels that they bypassed earlier, before being forced to halt at a dead end. “Oh great Potter, now we’re gonna die in a sewer instead of an antechamber.” Pyxis slaps a hand over both boys mouths and makes a shushing noise, “Its blind not deaf, we might make it out of this if you don’t make noise.” Before either can protest, the Basilisk slithers into view, taking particular interest in their tunnel. The three of them back up against the grate that blocks their way out, and Pyxis can hear her blood pounding in her ears, feel the trickle of sweat making its way down her neck. She and the boys smell of fear and grime, she hopes and prays to every god she’s read about, and that includes Merlin, that the Basilisk’s sense of smell is worse than hers. 

The creature in question comes within a hairs breadth of them and she holds her breath, still hoping that maybe it might make a difference between life and death. She doesn’t even realize Draco has moved until he tosses a rock into the tunnel opposite them, she freezes, thinking that this version of Draco has doomed them all and her family will never know what really happened to her. But the Basilisk decides the rock is more lively than the three terrified children in front of it, and slithers away seeking out something that isn’t there. 

Pyxis sags in relief and sank to the ground, gripping her chest tightly in an attempt to calm her frantic heart. Harry turns to Draco and says, “That was rather clever.” Draco glowers at him, “If you haven’t noticed Potter, I’m always clever.” Pyxis lets out a breathless chuckle and says, “Guys. Banter later, save Ginny and kill the Basilisk now yeah?” They glance down at her and nod, “Alright. But what do you propose we do that? Potter here is the only one who can wield that sword, you lost your wand in the Basilisk’s eye. How are we going to kill it?” “Not to mention destroy Voldemort and save Ginny.” She leaned her head back, “We’ll figure it out as we go. Its not like I planned to jab my wand in its eye.” Draco shakes his head, “you are the maddest person I know.” 

She smirks up at him, “Considering you actually know me, you’re the maddest person you know.” They stare at her, confused, before she gets up and starts on the way back to the antechamber, “If we’re going to get anything done, might as well do it now while we’re not dead.” They nod once and the three of them head back the way they came.

They arrive back to find Voldemort hovering over the body of Ginny. She’s even paler than she was before and Voldemort seems more lively. He catches sight of the three of them and smirks, “Still alive I see. Though not for much longer.” He throws a hex at them and Pyxis jumps in front of the boys to shield them, a wave of pain rackets up her body and sends her screaming to the ground. Draco bends down to make sure she’s alright as Voldemort chuckles, “Always the Gryffindors that die first. So protective over their friends.” Out of anger and pain, a loud growl rips its way out of her throat. With eyes like ice she says, “I’m a Hufflepuff you stupid piece of dragon dung!” 

Voldemort’s eyes widen a little at that, “Well isn’t this interesting, I’d think a Hufflepuff would have been running for the hills long before this point.” She got up and growled again, “We’re loyal to those we care about, meaning we’d go into the most dangerous situations without paying any mind to our fear. In fact, I’d follow these idiots to the ends of the earth if I had to.” The boys seem surprised at this admission, but she’s not moving on her stance, they may not know her well, but she knows their counterparts, and from what she can tell, these two are exactly the same. The Basilisk slides out of one of the tunnels to the side of the room, hissing angrily as it makes its way over to the three of them. 

Pyxis steps back and turns to the others, “other than stabbing its eyes out. What else can harm a Basilisk?” Draco shrugs, but Harry seems to remember something, “A Rooster! A rooster’s call is fatal for it to hear.” Draco snaps at him, “Oh thats wonderful Potter, why don’t you just pull one from a pocket of your robes.” Pyxis snaps her fingers, “Draco you’re brilliant.” She rummages her pocket for something, anything really, and comes up with random piece of parchment. She tosses it at the two of them, hoping one of them actually caught it, and says, “How good are you at Transfiguration?” 

Harry looks confused, but Draco has caught on, “Merlin you are mad aren’t you? Have you forgotten we’re second years?” She turns around and charges the Basilisk again, calling back, “Yes I am, no I have not, but you can do it.” She swerves to the side of the Basilisk shouting at it so that it follows her and aims straight for Voldemort. Pyxis has absolutely no idea what she’s doing, all she knows though is that she needs to buy the boys time. She ran to the back of Voldemort and stopped there, without facing him she says, “You’re dead you know. My aunt and uncle killed you.” He turned around and she does the same, “Ah, but I will live again, you’re little friend Ginny has seen to that.” Pyxis glances over at the prone body of the little girl, “I didn’t mean here. Where I’m from. You died. My Uncle James and Aunt Lily killed you, together, with the help of my parents. It wasn’t even a spectacular death, you died at the hands of the Killing Curse and smashed your head open on a rock as you fell. No one remembers you now. No one is afraid of you.” 

She looks over Voldemort’s shoulder to find the Basilisk just a few inches behind him, “And no one is dumb enough to let a Hufflepuff talk for so long when they’re running for their life.” Voldemort looks confused for a split second before the Basilisk sinks its teeth in his shoulder, mistaking him for her. Voldemort cried out in pain and slaps her with the back of his hand, his knuckles cracking against her cheek and making her step back, “Wretched brat! How dare you turn my own beast against me.” She spits a gob of blood into his face and backs up further, “Riddle me this Tom,” Voldemort scowled and hisses for the Basilisk to get off of him, “If I’ve been standing here and rattling off nonsense that even I don’t understand. What are the boys doing?” 

His dark eyes widen and he whirls around, Draco remained where they were, holding a black feathered Rooster. Harry sits atop the Basilisk, holding tight to its scales with one hand and adjusting the grip on his sword with the other. Harry noticed she’s done talking and yells, “NOW,” to Draco as he plunges the glittering sword into the Basilisk’s head. Draco squeezes the rooster, making it crow loudly, the sound echoing throughout the antechamber and ensuring that the Basilisk is dead. 

The body of the creature collapses to the ground, throwing Harry back over to where Ginny lay. A wet hiss escapes its mouth at an attempt for a last breath, and the massive body goes still. Pyxis sags against the damp stone hair of Salazar and sighs, “That was horrible.” She’s forgotten that the Dark Lord is standing before her, and that he’s very angry. Voldemort grabs her by her collar and slams her against the wall, her head cracks against the stone and she sees stars. Muttering to herself to try and steady the spinning world she says, “For the love of Helga not again.” A wand is jabbed at the base of her throat and Voldemort growls at her, “I will not lose to some pompous second years.” 

She whimpers in pain and tries to claw at Voldemort’s arm. The pain in her head make her hands useless and she only manages to bat at his sleeve; Voldemort chuckles darkly, “I”m going to enjoy ending you, little girl.” Pyxis squirmed under his grip, still trying to fight back even though every movement makes the world spin and her stomach roil. ‘I’m a bloody werewolf, why am I not stronger?!’ She doesn’t realize that she’s said her thoughts aloud until she hears Voldemort’s chuckle, “So the little girl is more than she seems. Looks like Hogwarts has more than one monster hidden in its walls.” 

The point of Harry’s wand digs deeper into the hollow of her throat, cutting off any sort of retort that she could think up. She chokes a little, the wand close to puncturing her airway, and she tries to claw at Voldemort again. But no matter how hard she tries, he’s just too strong, and he’s still getting stronger. The wound on his shoulder is festering, and Pyxis smells the poison seeping into his veins, he may kill her, but she’s pretty sure he’ll follow her to hell soon after. She glares at him, baring her teeth and letting out another growl, “At least this monster doesn’t kill, you on the other hand use a creature that’s probably been sleeping for the past Millenia to do your dirty work.” He slams her against the wall again and she feels a trickle of blood start dripping down the back of her head.

“I am the Heir of Slytherin, that creature, as you so called it, belongs to me. And must do as I command.” She spits at him again and grins at his disgusted face, “No it doesn’t, you’re just lucky your a Parselmouth, otherwise, you’d be dead just like Myrtle.” He looks like he’s going to slam her into the wall again, probably just to end her once and for all. But a bright light pierces his middle and he lets go of her collar. Making her fall to the ground in a heap. From where she lays on the ground, Pyxis notices through bloodied hair that there’s a weird… hole in the center of Voldemort’s stomach. 

The older boy turns to find Harry digging a Basilisk’s fang into what looks like a Diary. Black ink spurts up from where the fang has been stabbed, Pyxis watches as Voldemort tries to stop him, only for Harry to stab the fang further into the leather binding and parchment. The hole grows wider and wider, little cracks spreading all across the older boy’s body. For a little bit, he looks like he’s made of paper, writing appears on all his skin, and his dark eyes turn flat, like a picture drawn wrong. 

Finally, the light overtakes Voldemort’s body and he combusts into a bright golden light. Pyxis covers her eyes and curls up against the stone wall, when the light has faded she finds Ginny is gasping awake next to Harry, and the Diary is completely ruined, the fang sticking out of it. Draco races over to her and checks her over, “Did you know that antagonizing the man who has a wand to your throat is potentially, DETRIMENTAL TO YOUR HEALTH?!” Pyxis winces at his shout, but is slightly happy that this Draco is looking out for her, “It bought you time didn’t it?” Draco rolled his eyes and helps her up, the world had stopped spinning and the blood on the back of her head had dried. 

Together they hobble over to where Harry and Ginny are to make sure they’re alright. Ginny is blubbering against Harry’s shoulder about how it was her who wrote on the wall and lured the Basilisk out, she’s clutching tightly to him, dripping snot and tears all over his robes. Pyxis smirks and sat down next to them, “Its Ginny right?” The younger girl looks up at her, “It isn’t your fault, Voldemort used you.” Ginny shuddered at the name, “There’s no sense in crying over something you couldn’t control.” Ginny shakes her head, “But I could’ve done something! If I had just thrown out that stupid diary when I found it, none of this would have happened!”

Pyxis looks to the book over by Harry and picked it up, “This thing?” Ginny nods, the book is completely covered in black ink now, the pages and covers stuck tightly together because of it. A whiff of intense Dark Magic hits her nose and she drops the diary out of fright, “What is that?!” Draco picks it up and looks at it closely, “… its my father’s. I’ve seen him look at it back at the manor. Why do you have it?” Ginny shrugs, “I was getting my books out of the cauldron we had back in Flourish and Blotts and this was just with them.” Draco looks like he’s going to say something more, but the sounds of voices coming down the tunnel catches their attention. 

Ron is running full speed ahead towards the four of them and bowls into Ginny shouting, “Gin you’re alright!” Pyxis chuckles at the two of them, and she and Harry share an amused smile. Draco on the other hand has turned emotionless, a mask that she’s commonly seen on her Potions professor set firmly in place as the group of harassed looking adults make their way over. “Mr. Potter! Mr. Malfoy! What is the meaning of this!” Professor McGonagall looks absolutely furious, but also relieved that they are alright. Professor Snape emerges from behind her, eyes locking on Pyxis, “It would seem that the mysterious girl from last year has decided to make a reappearance.” He walks up to her and narrows his eyes, “And it would seem to be in similar circumstances as the last time.” 

Pyxis grins weakly, the wound at the back of her head begins to pound mercilessly, and she’s found that her muscles are extremely overworked from all her running. Professor Snape waves his wand and mutters a couple spells while focused on her, the pain recedes and she’s able to look around quickly without the world spinning again. Relaxing a bit, she says, “Thank you Professor Snape.” Getting up, she brushes off her robes and checks the rest of herself; her hair still has some dried blood in it, but she can get that out once she’s back in her dorm. 

Snape stops her with a hand on her shoulder, “I do believe you owe us an explanation. You never did answer my question the last time we met, so I will ask this again, Who. Are. You.” Pyxis tugged on a loose curl, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Snape raised an eyebrow, “Try me.” She glanced at the other adults, Professor McGonagall was tearing a new one into Ginny and Harry, Madam Pomfrey was tutting about Draco, and running diagnostic spells on all four of them for good measure. Pyxis shrugged, “My name is… Pyxis, I’m a second year in Hufflepuff. But trust me when I say you won’t find my name on the roster.” 

There’s a familiar rustling noise from behind her and all the adults aimed their wand in its direction. When she turned around, she saw that the robed figure was back and he was holding out her wand. ‘I believe you’ve lost this young one.’ She smiled at him and walked over, “Thanks, I thought it was still buried in the Basilisk’s eyes. Hey you even cleaned it!” She takes the wand from him and looks it over, its as precise and clean as the day she got it from Ollivander’s. Glancing up at him, she realizes the robed figure was a little clearer now, she could see where his robe ended and his hands began, but the edges were still extremely blurry. 

The figure smiles down warmly at her, ‘Come now young one, it is time to return.’ He held out his hand and she took it without hesitation, she turned back to the adults and the boys. All of them stood gaping at her, but for some reason Professor Snape was the only one who looked calm, she smiled, “See you guys when I see ya.” She follows the figure to the edge of the walkway and jumps into the water with him. 

One bright flash and swirling motion later, she’s arrived in the hallway outside of Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom. Her feet a thoroughly soaked from standing in the puddle she’s landed in, but the rest of her is surprisingly dry. Pyxis shakes off the water from her shoes and attempts a drying charm on them, it works, mostly. Her socks are still damp and she’s pretty sure there’s still water by her big toe, but it got the job done. Running a hand through her hair she wonders how long she’s been gone, before realizing the dried blood clinging to her hair is completely gone.

“Hey Pyx!” She turns around to find Harry, Hermione, Draco, Neville, and Hannah all walking up the hallway together. “ Where have you been all day, come on its almost dinner time, I hear they’re serving vanilla cake tonight.” She brightens up at that and steps in line with them, “I’ve been caught up in some… Care of Magical Creatures stuff, I got a little too into it and started reading about Basilisks.” Hannah shuddered, “Basilisks? Why would you read about Basilisks?” Pyxis shrugged, “You never know when the info will come in handy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the Way thanks so much for all the kudos I've been getting. It really makes my day!  
> Come find me on tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bio-blegh


	6. Much Ado about Pyxis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiya guys. Ok so I drew blank after blank for this chapter, so have some domestic and sick Pyxis. I'm sorry if the chapter is crap, its easter and my head's been elsewhere this weekend. Also I just want to let you know, I may not post this week, big test for my biology class and I need to study. But if you catch me procrastinating that just means more reading material for you right? Anyway, enjoy.

“Ahchoo!” Sirius looked up from where he was reading on the couch when he heard the sneeze. Pyxis is on the floor by the coffee table, wiping her nose on the sleeve of her jumper and watching TV, “You ok Pixie Dust?” She nods absentmindedly, “ s’nothing dad. Just allergies.” He eyes his daughter for a bit, warning bells going off in his head as he remembers something. She ran about in the rain last week, came home completely soaked through and refused anything he or Remus gave her to get her warm. She said that it was a dare the boys had put her up to.

Putting the Prophet down on the table he gets up and goes to the kitchen, “Alright Pixie. Just tell me if you’re feeling a little under the weather alright?” She calls back an, “Ok,” and he rummages about the cupboards, “Ok what do we have… Chamomile, vaporub, cough drops, cold potions… Hmm. I think I’ll need to go to the apothecary to get more ingredients for headache potion if I know her.” The sound of the TV in the other room stops and Pyxis peers into the kitchen, “Whatcha looking for?” 

Sirius shakes his head and closes the cupboard, “Just checking if we need to get groceries anytime soon.” Pyxis blinks at him, looking a little confused, “Dad… you know we went grocery shopping yesterday right?” Sirius just stares at her blankly, “… We did?” She smirks up at him and crosses her arms, “Someone’s getting old.” Affronted, Sirius gasps dramatically and says, “How dare you even think that Pyxis! I am at the prime of my youth! And to prove it, we are going out.” Pyxis raised her eyebrows in both amusement and surprise, “Oh? And where are we going?” 

Sirius huffed and marches to the entryway, grabbing his favorite leather jacket and helmet he says, “Grab a jumper and your coat, then you’ll find out.” 

~*~

About an hour later, Pyxis is relaxing in the noonday sun next to her Dad’s motorcycle, atop one of the turrets making up Tower bridge. She kicks her legs out, making the strong notice-me-not charm surrounding them ripple a bit. Sirius is leaning against his bike and smoking a cigarette in a desperate attempt to prove to his daughter that he’s still in his prime. The tattoo bearing her name on his wrist wrinkling a bit as he removes the cigarette to blow out a puff of smoke. He coughs a little before choosing to flick the stub out into the water below, “Dad something’s going to catch fire because of that.” He rolls his eyes and flicks his wand once, the spell he mutters making the cigarette vanish with the next gust of wind. 

Crossing her legs, Pyxis looked over and asks, “Why Tower Bridge?” Sirius shrugged, “Why not. Its big, its wild, I don’t think we’ve flown up here before, and we might get to see the bridge lift up beneath us; the muggles say thats lucky.” She looks down, the cars and buses all honk and race past, the people looking no bigger than the ants she finds in the Forbidden Forest. “Really? That’s a weird way of getting luck. Think if I make a wish before it opens it’ll come true?” He looks down at the bridge with her, “Not sure, the specifics on the luck aren’t explained, but go ahead and try it.” She grins at him and looked back down, “I wish… I wish Father gets the job at Hogwarts. I wish the boys would stop getting sick, and I wish…” 

A secret smile spreads on her lips as she whispers, “I wish I could see the others as soon.” A gust of wind blew past them, making her auburn curls fly all about her face, and forcing Sirius to grip his bike so it didn’t blow off of the turret. “Ok Pixie Dust I think its about time we head back home. This wind’s gonna knock us over and its not gonna be fun flying back.” Pyxis nodded and climbs into the side car, strapping her starry helmet to her head, she gives her Dad the thumbs up and he revs the old Harley to life. 

As the two of them take off into the evening sky, neither of them noticed the cars halting at either end of Tower Bridge. Nor did they see the road below lifting skyward to let a ship pass underneath.

~*~

Two days after the impromptu visit to London. Sirius knocks on Pyxis’s bedroom door saying, “Its time to get up Pixie. I know its summer, but you can’t just sleep the whole day away, we’ve got to visit your aunt and uncle today remember?” A muffled groan is the only response. 

Sirius knocks again, “Pixie its almost Noon, and if my memory serves me right, you were the one who has been griping about not being able to see your god brother.” This time there isn’t even a groan. Feeling a little worried, Sirius opened the door and peers inside.

The room is dark, and only a faint amount of light filters inside from the closed shutters. The painted constellations frolic along the walls, chasing after one another and relishing in their extended time in the darkness. From under the covers comes the sound of sniffles and a wet cough. Sirius walks over and pulls the comforter off of the face of his sleeping daughter. Her face is blotchy and red, her curls are damp and stick to her forehead, when she opens her eyes they’re watery. Sirius places a hand on her forehead, just like he thought, she’s running a fever.

Pyxis groans again and focuses on him, “Hi Dad… is it time to get up?’ Sirius shook his head and pulled the comforter up to her chin, “No Pixie Dust, go back to sleep, its still early.” She smiles up at him and closes her eyes, her sniffling letting him know when she’s drifted off. He casts a cooling charm around her and makes his way out of the room.

When he makes it back to the kitchen where Remus is finishing some tea he says, “You owe me five sickles.” Remus chokes a little, “What?” Sirius smirks, “I said you owe me five sickles,” he goes to the cupboard and grabs a packet of chicken soup, “She’s sick.” Remus raises an eyebrow, green eyes going wide, “you’re kidding. She’s actually sick? She’s never been sick in her life.” A muffled cough comes from upstairs and Sirius starts making the soup with a flick of his wand, “I believe that, confirms my diagnoses.” Remus’s brow furrows, “I’m going to see this for myself.” 

Setting his tea down, Remus walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Sirius just hummed tunelessly and waits for the inevitable. He was checking the heating charm he had on the soup when Remus came down, wiping his face vigorously with a handkerchief, “Was she sick Moony?” His husband glared at him, “The only reason I’m agreeing is because she just sneezed all over me.” Sirius snickered and ended the heating char, levitating the soup into a waiting bowl, “Well now that that’s settled, can you pass me the cold potion? I think it’ll help after I give her this.” Remus raised an eyebrow, “Why not just give her the potion outright? Wouldn’t that cure her?” 

Sirius shook his head, “The cold potion I buy only takes away the sniffles and fever, if we took care of the infection outright her body wouldn’t build an immunity to it.” When he turned back to his Husband, Remus was staring at him wide eyed, “At least that’s what Lily’s told me, pretty sure that’s how my mother died too.” Remus looked impressed, “I didn’t think you payed attention when Lily talks about that kind of stuff.” Sirius scowled and picked up the soup, “I know we pureblood’s don’t have proper knowledge most of the time, but you’ve gotta give me some credit Moons.” Remus chuckled and grabbed the cold potion before pecking Sirius on the lips, “I know, I know and I’m sorry. Bring Pyxis her soup please? If I know anything about you and her, I don’t think she’s going to like being sick for too long.” 

Appeased Sirius walked up the stairs with the bowl in hand, only to stop at the top of the stairs, “That reminds me. We need to firecall Prongs and Lily, tell them why we aren’t coming over.” Remus gave a little salute and said, “Got it covered.” Sirius nodded down at him and continued his way over to Pyxis’s room.

She hadn’t moved from where he had left her, but when he placed a hand on her forehead, it felt like the cooling charm had only increased her temperature. Setting the bowl down on her nightstand he opened the blinds and summoned the chair at her desk so he could sit down next to the bed. She groaned and opened her eyes blearily, “ s’too bright…” Sirius rubbed her back and gave her a sympathetic look, “I know love, but come on lets have some soup alright? I promise it will make you feel better.” She raises her head a little and eyes the soup warily, “I dunno… never had soup before. Only noodles… and even then—” “No broth. I know, but you need the broth this time Pixie Dust, and don’t worry there’s noodles here too. Now come on lets sit up shall we?” 

Sirius manages to get her to sit up straight enough for her to eat her food. He attempts to feed her like when she was little, but her scowl and indignant, “I’m thirteen Dad I can feed myself,” puts him off. 

She’s almost finished with the bowl when Remus walks in, slightly sooty, but smiling warmly. “I’ve just finished flooing with your Aunt Lily. She says she hopes you get better soon and that we’re welcome to come round to Godric’s Hollow whenever you’re better.” Pyxis frowns mid-bite and says, “Why did you floo Aunt Lily?” Sirius turns to her, “We were supposed to come visit them today, don’t you remember?” She pales just a little bit, “Oh for the love of— How could I forget!” She sets the bowl down on the nightstand and tries to get out of bed, “Come on guys we—” Her attempt at leaving bed is halted by a sudden onslaught of pain on the side of her head, it seems the headaches have started up and she sinks to the ground. “Ow…” Remus picks her up around the middle and sets her back down on the bed, “Don’t even think about it pup. If you’re anything like your Dad and I, this is going to be pretty bad, and we’re not passing it on to the Potters, alright?” 

Pyxis groans and nods slowly, “Ok… just make the pounding stop.” Remus nodded and disappears out the door to find the headache potion, Sirius banishes the empty bowl to the kitchen sink and makes sure she drinks all of the cold potion. 

She grimaces and says, “That tastes like dragon dung.” Sirius snorted and took the potion bottle back, “And you would know this, how?” Pyxis blushes and glares at the comforter, “You find really weird stuff when you run around the Forbidden Forest. REALLY weird stuff.” Sirius laughs and shakes his head, “You found dragon dung in the forest and thought it best to… what? Eat it?” Obviously horrified at the thought Pyxis rounds on him, “NO! No of course not! Why would you— Oh Merlin and Helga. NO! I did not eat dragon dung, if you must know, I fell off of a hill during a run and ended up… landing in it… and my mouth… well my mouth just happened to be open at the time.” 

Sirius couldn’t help but laugh, even as Pyxis sent him the most intense death glare he’d ever felt. And he’s best friends with Lily Potter. 

Remus walked back in to the room to find his husband on the floor and clutching his stomach, while his daughter was glaring and blushing madly at him from her bed. He cleared his throat to get their attention and Pyxis’s head practically snapped she looked at him so fast, “Father make him stop.” Remus raised an eyebrow and turned to Sirius, “What happened?” Between wheezes and laughs Sirius manages to say, “She. Ate. Dragon. Dung.” 

Pyxis turns an even darker shade of red and buried herself under the covers, “You’re mean!” Remus smirks and shakes his head, “I’m sure there’s going to be a story attached to that, but right now someone needs to take her headache potion.” Pyxis peeked out from under the covers and eyes the bottle, “Is that gonna taste bad too?” Remus gives a sympathetic look and goes to sit down at the foot of her four poster, “No pup, this one just tastes like caramel. I promise. The only reason the cold potion tastes terrible is because your Dad bought it from the apothecary. Plus he tried making some of the batch we have himself and those usually turn out bad.” 

Sirius had finally calmed down and says, “Hey! I’ll have you know my potion skills are only second to—” “James’s and he got a Troll on his potions NEWT.” There’s a faint pink that coats Sirius’s cheeks as he mutters, “We weren’t that bad.” Remus chuckles and hands Pyxis her potion, making sure she drinks it all before saying, “Oh no, you only blew up your potion twice a week for, Seven. Years.” Pyxis hiccups when the Potion is done and smacks her lips, “That’s really good.” Remus smiles and takes the vial back from her, “I know it is. I made it.” 

She grins at him and curls back under the covers, “So… if Dad is second to last in Potions, what does that make you Father?” Remus ruffles her hair, and gets up, motioning to Sirius so that they could let her rest, “I’m second best pup. Only to your Aunt Lily though.” Pyxis nods and yawns, “You’re really good at potions aren’t you?” Her eyes flutter shut and both men kiss her forehead, before he closes her door, Remus looks back and whispers, “Yes. Yes I am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for Reading! Kudos and Comments appreciated!  
> Come find me on tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bio-blegh


	7. Werewolves and Hippogriffs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> YO I am back baby! Ok, third year's here, and there's a surprise for Harry, Draco, and Hermione. A new Character has arrived and captures the interest of our Pixie Dust, wonder where this might go. Seriously I have no idea how I'm going to develop this. And of course the Hippogriff scene back in the second world, can't have our darling Draco being too much of a prat right?

Levitating the last of the boxes into the room, Pyxis lowered her wand and wiped her brow. ‘Go to the school early’ she had thought, ‘Help out the Professors and help surprise the boys,’ she thought. Letting out an angry growl she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, if she saw another one of those Merlin forsaken multi-package boxes in her next life it would be too soon. 

Professor McGonagall looked into the office and turned to the young girl, “Ms. Lupin, thank you for your assistance. If you wish, you may go and await the carriages at the front of the school. They should be arriving any minute now.” Pyxis thanked her and ran for the nearest stairwell, she slid down the bannisters and managed to land without crashing into the nearest wall. The paintings nearby chuckle at her after one particularly close call and she sticks her tongue out at them.

By the time she’s reached the doors at the front of the school, several of the upper years were already filtering in. Cedric waved at her as he was walking in and she smiled brightly, “We’re gonna win this year Diggory, I know it!” The older boy laughed and ruffles her hair before walking into the Great Hall. She waits under the great arch at the entrance, watching as the other students disembarked from their carriages and ran as fast as they could to get out of the rain. 

She spotted one student running as fast as she could up the walk, her book bag clutched tightly to her chest to keep it out of the rain. Hermione stepped up next to her and gave her a damp hug, “Hello Pyxis, bloody mess this is. I can’t believe this rain, they said it was going to be sunny all day today!” Pyxis looked up at the angry grey clouds above them, “I know. This is a bit on the strange side.” “Think you can help me with a Drying Charm?” Pyxis nods and quickly murmurs the incantation, within seconds Hermione is completely dry, if not a bit frizzy. The Ravenclaw smiled, “Thanks. You’ve gotten good at those.” Pyxis smirked, “I’ve had a lot of practice. I actually got sick this summer and kept spilling things mid-sneeze. I’m just glad I live in Hogsmeade, otherwise I’d be in so much trouble with the Ministry.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow, “Wow! You can get sick?!” Pyxis elbowed her friend’s side, “Ow! Ok I deserved that. Anyways, how come you didn’t take the carriages with the boys this year?” Pyxis smiled mischievously, “its a surprise.” Hermione raised her eyebrows in interest, “What kind of surprise?” Pyxis snorted, “Well if I tell you then it won’t be a surprise anymore.” Hermione frowned and took a step closer to her friend, “You can tell me. Please? I hate not knowing things.” Pyxis laughed, “I know you do, that’s why I’m not telling you.” Hermione huffed and crossed her arms, “Well then I’m not telling you something.” Pyxis cocked her head to the side, “Oh? I bet I can guess what your surprise is before you can guess mine.” 

Hermione rose to the challenge, “Alright, what are the stakes?” Pyxis grinned, “I’ll give you the chocolate I get from Honeydukes for a whole month.” Hermione nodded, “Ok… and I’ll give you my study guides for the first five tests in any class, but only one class.” The two of them agreed and shook on it, Pyxis shoved her hands in her pockets and said, “You go first. I have an unfair advantage.” Hermione raised an eyebrow and bit her lip in concentration, “Ok… you weren’t in the carriages and look like you’ve been here all day. You smell a little bit too.” Pyxis scowled, “I do not.” Hermione rolled her eyes, “I know, I know… You’ve secured an apprenticeship with one of the Professors.” 

Pyxis shook her head, “Nope, close though. You’ll find out during the feast, I promise. My turn.” Hermione pouted, but let Pyxis go anyways. She took a step back, mainly because the second smell attached to her friend was getting to be a little much, “You… You’ve got a cat don’t you?” Hermione turned to her, surprised, “How? How do you do that?” Pyxis gave her a confused look, out of all the people close to her, she would’ve thought Hermione could figure it out. Some she’d been forced to tell, Diggory in case a game coincided with the full moon, others already knew, the Professors of course, and some just… figured it out. 

Her friend’s eyes widened and she took a step back, realizing the reason, “Oh Merlin Pyxis! I completely forgot! I’m such a bad friend! Wait, can you… do you… Are cats and dogs really enemies?” Pyxis laughed, relieved that she didn’t have to explain, “No… Merlin no… well ok I can’t speak for cats and dogs in general. But I need to get to know said cat before trusting them.” Appeased, and slightly intrigued, Hermione relaxed, “Oh good. That means you’ll get to meet Crookshanks without destroying the castle.” 

Pyxis was about to retort when familiar laughter met her ears. Turning, she saw Draco and Harry making their way up the walk to the castle, with a new person in tow. They caught sight of the girls and smiled brightly at them, “Hello Pyx, ‘Mione.” Pyxis snickered at their soaked robes, “ ‘Lo Harry, ‘Lo Draco, ‘Lo… Sorry who are you?” Draco stepped aside and put on a faux aristocratic air, “Ms. Lupin, Ms. Granger, since you were both so kind as to not wait for us back at the train; Potter and I have deemed it necessary to have someone else accompany us.” The girls rolled their eyes and looked at the newcomer, he was tall, dark skinned, and positively alluring. Unconsciously Pyxis licked her lips.

The boy smiled, making Hermione blush, “And who is your knew companion?” Harry rolled his eyes, “Why ‘Mione. Why do you indulge him?” Pyxis gave Harry a sympathetic look and patted his shoulder, “Let Draco have his dramatics,” and then in a stage whisper she said, “Its probably the only thing he really has.” She felt Draco swat the back of her head and she winced, “Ok I deserved that. But you can’t deny its true!” Draco huffed, “Of course you did… and I can try.” Pyxis snorted and rolled her eyes, “Now where was I, Oh yes. Ms. Lupin, Ms. Granger, may I introduce Blaise Zabini, the sole heir to the Zabini line.” 

Pyxis channeled her inner Black and raised her chin high, turning her face into a haughty mask, “Mr. Zabini, quite a… pleasure, to meet you.” Zabini smirked, “Ms. Lupin I can assure you the pleasure is all yours.” The corner of her mouth twitched, but she managed to keep up her façade, “Quite.” 

After a few moments of awkward silence, the four friends burst into laughter while Zabini let out a slow smile. Harry and Hermione were leaning on either of Pyxis’s shoulder, while Pyxis herself was trying to keep herself standing straight. Draco ended his laughter and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Pyxis don’t ever do that again. Its too… Pureblood. In fact I’m surprised my mother isn’t appearing out of nowhere saying, Praise Merlin she’s a proper lady!” 

She snorted, “Oh gods I know.” Zabini lifted an eyebrow, “You mean to say you’re not pureblood? Draco said you’re half Black and half Lupin. So two halves should make a whole no?” Pyxis bit her lip to keep from laughing and said, “While that’s true, I’m adopted. No clue as to what my mom or dad were, especially my dad. And thats one person I don’t want to get to know.” Zabini looked her up and down and she felt herself shiver a little. Shrugging it off she said, “Come on everyone, lets get in the Great Hall, and grab some dinner.” 

~*~

When Dumbledore made the announcements for the upcoming year, Pyxis made sure to keep an eye on her friends. All of them knew she had a surprise, and they were all getting antsy because she wouldn’t tell them. She waited patiently for the final announcement to be said and grinned when Dumbledore reached the end of his parchment. Diggory, who was sitting across from her, kept throwing amused glances at her, mouthing, ‘Have you told them yet?’ Every five seconds. He’d only found out because, being captain of their house team, he needed to know all of the Professors so he’d be able to contact them in case he needed to pull one of his teammates for something important. Or she was injured and he had to get her emergency contact. 

Dumbledore’s loud tones brought her attention back to the front, “And finally, Professor Quirrel has chosen to retire young as he believes he has, and I quote, ‘Fulfilled his duty to the addled minds of today’s youth,’ therefore! Allow me to introduce our newest Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor.” With a grand sweep of his arms Dumbledore motioned to one end of the table where the new Professor is just beginning to stand up. Brimming with Pride, Pyxis sat up straighter and watched as her friend’s jaws dropped, “Professor Remus Lupin, will be your new DADA teacher until the time comes to pass that he wishes to retire.” 

The Hall gave a round of polite applause and stood for their new teacher, Remus smiled warmly at the students and waves knowingly to four in particular. Pyxis snickers as three pairs of eyes land on her, either conveying surprise and glee, or utter horror. Hermione had loved coming to her house during the summer, and she got on relatively well with Pyxis’s father. The boys however, were going to find it a bit difficult in enacting pranks when a former Marauder was looking out for them. It was going to be an interesting year.

~*~

Their first class with her father left them breathless from laughter, as he decided to teach them about Boggarts. The bureau was opened and Neville was taught how to fight off the Boggart with the Riddikulus spell. With a loud pop, Boggart-Snape was wearing his grandmother’s robes and frilly purple hat. She laughed along with the rest of them, but prayed to Merlin the real Professor Snape would never know. Vengeance would be swift he did. 

When it was Pyxis’s turn the Boggart transformed into her parents, rotting and bloody, screaming how it was her fault that they were dying. She nearly had a panic attack, but with a warm hand on her shoulder, she gritted her teeth and cast the spell with as much force as she could muster. It turned into an enormous slinky and started slinking around the floor in front of her.

When Hermione went up, her friend ended up in near hysterics because Boggart-Flitwick told her she had failed all of her classes. It took about ten minutes for Pyxis to calm her friend down enough to try again, and this time she did manage the spell. Turning the Boggart into Blue and Bronze fireworks. Her friend muttering, “I will pass! I will!” 

When it was time for them to leave class, Remus asked Pyxis to hang back a bit; using the excuse about perfecting her wand technique. With the last of the students gone, Remus turned worried green eyes to his daughter and asked, “How did I do?” She smiles warmly up at her Father and points her wand at the bureau containing the Boggart, “Alohomora!” The Boggart comes stumbling back out and transforms into Harry and Draco this time, both of them in the same states as her parents. Focusing Pyxis shouts, “Riddikulus!” And the two dying boys end up kissing instead, and for some reason she isn’t surprised at all. Remus forces the Boggart back, and locks the Bureau before turning back to his grinning daughter.

He smiles and says, “that good huh?” She nods and gives him a hug, “Not just good. Absolutely fantastic!” His smile grew wider and he returned the hug, “What class do you have next?” Pyxis shook her head, “I’ve got a free period right now, you?” Remus turned back to the bureau, “I’ve got to teach the upper years next. Fancy helping out your old man?” 

~*~

One afternoon during her free period, Pyxis wandered through the forest and let the trees guide her path. Following the flow of magic that always seemed to call her here. She made sure to keep her wits about her, no need for a repeat of what happened the last time she went too deep. The shadows changed against the ground, shifting and moving in time with the tiniest brush of wind. Her ring began pulse a bit, thrumming in time with the magic in the woods and she stopped.

Fear curling dangerously in her belly, she wondered what would happen if she let it pull her this time. Would she brought back to the dead man? The ring pulses again and she felt the flash more so than saw it this time. When the bright spots in her vision were gone, the forest looked exactly the same, only the magic was slightly skewed. The energy in the air and the round trying to regain balance after the unnatural pulse that brought her there. Ahead, the sound of voices caught her attention, all of them sounding like people she knew.

With a huff, Pyxis followed the sounds until she comes across a clearing near the edge of the woods. The trees were thicker here and there wasn’t really a way out; so she used the trunk of the nearest tree to climb up onto the lowest branch. 

She took a seat and let her legs swing as a group of students approached the clearing. Gryffindors and Slytherins by the looks of it, and considering Hagrid was leading the group, she must’ve stumbled into a Care of Magical Creatures Class. There’s a strange squawking sound coming from her right and Pyxis finds a Hippogriff lounging in the shade next to the trunk of her tree. Its seen her and is bristling its feathers, recognizing another predator and trying to assert its dominance. 

With an awkward little bow, she made it clear to the Hippogriff that she wasn’t a threat and the two of them focused back on the students. Motioning to the beast below her, Hagrid started explaining about Hippogriffs in general and selected one of the students to put the knowledge into practice. He guided the Hippogriff, whose name turned out to be Buckbeak, and brought him close to the student. 

Pyxis snickered when she caught sight of nervous green eyes and a shaky bow. Harry waited patiently for Buckbeak to return the bow, the young Hippogriff didn’t and Harry started to back away slowly. Buckbeak turned back to her and she made a ‘Go on’ gesture towards the creature, tentatively the Hippogriff returned the bow and let Harry get near him. The other students gave some polite applause before Hagrid had them in groups of two and paired them off to interact with the other Hippogriffs. 

Draco got paired with Harry in working with Buckbeak and gave a stiff bow, “This is bloody useless knowledge.” Buckbeak bowed back and Draco brought his hand out, “I mean they’re mindless beasts, utterly stupid unless there’s food about,” Pyxis grew worried as she saw the tension in Buckbeak’s body, Hippogriffs were prideful, and when insulted attacked with a vengeance. And Draco was about to get a taste of that if he kept it up.

She hopped down from the tree and ran over to the boys, managing to knock Draco down and out of the way as he said, “Rather Ugly things too.” Buckbeak reared up and roared, clawing at the air to try and get around Pyxis, “Hey! Hey, easy. He’s sorry, he doesn’t mean it I promise, he’s just a bit of a prat, he didn’t mean it.” Buckbeak calmed down and let her approach, she stroked the beast’s thick neck, downing his ruffled feathers while watching as Harry helped the other boy up. 

Angry grey eyes locked on the Hippogriff, and he looked ready to lash out again just as he caught sight of Pyxis. She glared at him and said, “You’re an idiot Draco. Were you paying any attention to what Hagrid said? Honestly, you’re lucky I’m here.” He blinked at her, “You’re here.” She let out an exasperated breath and patted Buckbeak’s side, “yeah. Again, guess I’m only around to make sure you two don’t do something stupid… again.” 

Harry snickered and grinned at her, “Its good to see you to.” She rolled her eyes and stepped away from Buckbeak, “Anything else need fixing, or are you done insulting creatures that are stronger than you?” Draco glared at her, but Harry shook his head, “We’re good.” Pyxis looked in between the two of them, “You two getting on alright?” Draco raised an eyebrow, “Who are you my mum?” Pyxis snorted and crossed her arms, “Might as well be,” Hagrid came lumbering over and eyed the three of them, “All righ’ there yew three?” Harry and Draco nodded, Hagrid focused on her, “Yer no’ in my class.” She shrugged, “I’ve got free period, thought I’d see what you guys were doing.” 

His brow furrowed and he took a step closer to her, “Don’ think a’ve seen you round the castle before.” Pyxis backed up into Buckbeak, feeling slightly trapped, “I’m short, not like you can see me when everyone’s getting a growth spurt.” She motioned to the boys haphazardly, hoping that he’d accept the answer and move on. He did, and said, “Alrigh’ bu’ be on time fer yer next class. Can’t have any o’ the other Professors raggin’ on me fer you skippin’ out.” With that he turned around and went to another group of students who actually succeeded in antagonizing another Hippogriff. Sighing in relief she sagged against Buckbeak, “Ok that was a bit close.” Harry snorted, “No kidding, he almost questioned you about where you came from.” Draco crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, “Yes… where did you disappear to?” 

She grinned and rubbed her ring, “Not allowed to tell you. Anyways I hate having to leave like that, I never know if you guys are alright or not.” Harry gave her a comforting smile and hooked an arm around her shoulder, “The last time was alright. You were around for the worst of it. Not much else but an earful from McGonagall, who also interrogated us about what we knew of you, and what happens when you vanish after you jump into random pools of water.” Pyxis snorted at that and turned to Draco, “How about you Prat? Anything interesting happen after I left?”

Draco scowled at her, “Professor Snape said to keep an eye out for you. He said you might be dangerous.” She raised an eyebrow, “Do you believe him?” Draco stared at her for a long while, “I’m not sure yet.” She nodded once, “I’ll take that. I guess. I won’t blame you if you don’t want to be around me, its your choice, not mine.”

Hagrid bellowed out at the class, “Alrigh’ class is over everyone back ta tha’ castle.” The other students clumped together and started making their way out of the forest. Pyxis removed Harry’s arm and shoved him towards Draco, “Go on. You’ve got other classes to get to don’t you?” Harry nods and starts walking towards the other students, Draco hangs back, eyeing the two of them suspiciously. Pyxis sighs and shakes her head, “No.” Draco blinks, “You’re rather friendly though.” She shrugs, “This is how friends are supposed to act Draco, I don’t know what you’ve been doing, but there’s nothing more there.” 

He frowns and is about to ask more, when Harry calls back, “Malfoy if you don’t want to be left behind you might as well hurry up!” Draco turns around and flips Harry the bird, making the other boy laugh. Pyxis chuckles a little before feeling a hand tugging on the sleeve of her robe; when she turns, she finds the robed figure holding out his hand towards her. “Time is short young one. You will return again soon.” She nods once and takes his hand, a flash of light, the jolt of magic, and she finds herself back in her world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for Reading! Comments and Kudos appreciated!  
> Come find me on tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bio-blegh


	8. Flashbacks and Fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, new chapter! So this one holds only one scene, but it was fun to write. Its a pretty dark if I do say so myself, but its important. The title of this fic is Three worlds, Two Hogwarts, One Ring right? Well so far we've only seen the two Hogwarts and the one ring. In this chapter we get a glimpse of the third world, which is basically the canon world. In descriptions I took some artistic license, but other than that the glimpse should be the same. Enjoy!

For the second time of the new year Pyxis and her father make their way from Hogwarts towards the Shrieking Shack. With one of the Professors now undergoing the same transformation as her, Dumbledore thought it was best if the she went without the monthly escort. So here she was, playing rock, paper, scissors with her father to see which of them would brave the Willow to touch the knot. With a triumphant cry, she threw her fist in the air, “Rock beats scissors! Your turn Father.” Remus grumbles something along the lines of , “I’m getting too old for this,” before braving the branches and poking the knot with the tip of his wand.

The Willow stills and Remus motions with his hand, “Come along pup. Lets get this over with.” Pyxis skipped over to her father and the two of them ducked under the roots of the tree, within minutes they were pushing open the trapdoor in the basement of their old haunt. Both went upstairs and to their respective rooms, before closing the door though, Pyxis asked, “So where should we go tonight? Just through the forest like usual?” Her father made a noncommittal noise, “I remember seeing some caves last month, ones just up the mountain. Do you think your up for it?” She grinned at him, “Bet I can make there before you.” Remus smirked, “You’re on.” 

When she was finished with removing and storing her outer robes in the chest of drawers, Pyxis watched through the window as the sun started to dip below the horizon. She was just about to remove her every day clothes; when she found the robed figure standing by the door. She frowned at him before looking to the ring on the nightstand, “You know I can’t wear it tonight. Its the full moon, it could break.” The figure nodded and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, “You’ve already had your potion young one. Place the ring on for only a moment, you may take it off when you cross.” Her frown deepened, “I’m not going. I’ve got my father here with me.”

The robed figure looked towards the wall separating her room from her father’s, “If you choose to go. They will not remember for as long as you are gone. To him it will seem like another full moon.” She looked away from him, a strange ache filling her chest, “… I don’t exist… I think Firenze said something similar a while back. When I leave the other place, do they forget about me too?” The robed figure shook his head, “Those boys are the only ones who remember, those who have only glimpsed you, forget.” She looked away from him, remembering how the boys from her crossings didn’t have a Pyxis of their own, even if she had them here. With a shaky voice she asked, “Do I exist anywhere?” The hand on her gave a firm squeeze that was neither comforting nor affirming, “When you are here you do.” Pyxis slid the ring onto her finger and huffed, “Well that’s convenient isn’t it.” 

Like all the times before there was a bright flash, the magic ran up and down the length of her arm. When the bright spots cleared, the room was more decrepit than usual, obviously not having been used in a long while. The chest of drawers was still in good condition, so she hid her clothes and the ring in them. Taking a seat on the floor, she waited patiently for the call of the moon, for her blood to sing, and for the forest to cry for its child. 

~*~

When her transformation was over and any excess blood shaken from her coat; Pyxis trotted over to the front door and pushed it open. The night air was warmer than usual, signaling that spring was coming sooner than they thought. She made her way into the forest, it had changed since the last time she came, as a wolf anyway. The mood was dark, tension thick through the air, many of the animals were terrified, even the predators were on their toes. The magic that normally ran smoothly was jilted, occasionally sending spikes into her as she was wandering along, making her instincts go on red alert every few seconds. A shadow would fly across the forest floor and she would raise her hackles, preparing for an attack, but none would ever come.

Something prickled in the back of her mind, making her turn to look back to the school. She noticed three people rushing underneath the Whomping Willow, they look to be students. Shortly after they disappear into the tunnel, a man ran out of the castle holding a piece of parchment and raced after the first three. Finally, a second man made his way down to the brutal tree, uttered a spell, and made his way carefully between the roots to follow the one who came before. Worry clouded her mind and she ran for the part of the forest closest to the tree. 

When she got there she managed to pick out who it was that had just ventured down the tunnel. The scents of Harry, Draco, and Hermione were the most faded; so they had to be the first three. Her father’s scent was slightly stronger, so he was the second, and surprisingly, she picked up the scent of Snape, meaning he was the last to follow. Confused, she took a few steps towards the willow and gave another sniff, ‘why were they here? What’s in the shack that they all needed to be there?’ Curiosity won out over her worry and she chose to stake out the hole until they returned. 

Resting her head on her paws in the bushes, she listened to the sounds of the woods around her, hoping they would give her some clue. The whispers of magic skated over her, making her want to run, want to howl, want to hunt. The smell of blood was close by, and her instincts started to scream ‘PREY.’ The human side of her was still dozing, listening to the magic, waiting; so the animal took over for a little bit, lifting the wolf up and making it crouch. Whatever kind of prey it was, the bleeding creature was coming towards the wolf. How could it pass up such a great opportunity by charging in after it. 

The sound of muffled voices came up from within the tunnel, the metallic smell of blood making the wolf drool. Its thoughts pervaded her mind, ‘Tonight I hunt.’ Pyxis registered that and quickly snapped out of her reverie, reining in her instincts and fighting for control over her body. By the time the group reemerged, she’d managed to shove her baser instincts down and focus on the people emerging. Harry was talking with a scraggly looking man while simultaneously floating an unconscious Professor Snape. Draco and Hermione were close behind, both of them carrying the red head boy from second year. The scent of blood was coming from him, his legs were broken, and there were deep gouges on the calf of one of them. 

Bringing up the rear of the group was her father. And he was human. Alarm bells went off in her head and Pyxis immediately stood up. A million thoughts raced through her mind as Remus stepped out into the light, ‘Why was he human? What was he doing with the others? Why does he look so sickly?’ Then one thought crashed like a steam train through every other, ‘He hasn’t taken his potion.’ There was no subdued scent of aconite coming from him, his skin was ashy grey, and he looked like he was going to collapse any moment. ‘Oh Merlin this is going to be bad.’ The clouds moved and the moon came out from behind them, Remus froze and let out a cry of pain. 

The scraggly man next to Harry rushed over to her father, now that she could see him better, Pyxis realized the man speaking was her Dad. Sirius asked in a panicked vioce, “Remus! Have you taken your potion? Answer me old friend, have you taken your potion?!” With the strength of ten men, Remus threw Sirius into the bushes next to her and began to transform. His limbs lengthened and his back arched forward, his skin grew leather-like, and his jaw jutted forward. The smell he was giving off told Pyxis that the wolf was sickly, and it really had to be if it looked like that. Its skin was patchy, barely a trace of fur covering its body, it was more human-esque than the werewolves she knew of. And thats when she figured out that this is what a wolf would look like when it transformed after being under the potion so long.

Cloudy, green eyes looked down at the group of students and their unconscious teacher. It gave a pained whine and took a whiff of the air, Harry stepped forward tentatively, “Professor?” The wolf growled and bared its teeth at him, the red head cried out and dropped something that quickly scurried off into the brush. But the rat wasn’t counting on Pyxis to be there, and halted when he saw her large paws. 

She knew of this rat. She knew this rat very well.

Her parents had told her that the Marauders had once been a group of four boys instead of three; James, Sirius, Remus, and someone named Peter Pettigrew. When the war had come around, she learned that Peter had tried to betray the other three by giving valuable information to Voldemort in exchange for his life. From the moment that she heard that story, Pyxis made it her mission to hate the man with every fiber of her being; and now here he was, quivering in fright before her. 

In the language between animals Peter said, ‘You wouldn’t hurt me would you? I’m just a field rat, too skinny to be tasty.’ She bared her teeth at the rat and growled low, ‘You’re not just any old field rat, and I’m not any old wolf. I know who you are Peter Pettigrew, I know what you’ve done. And don’t think for a second that I’m going to let you escape.’ He tried to run away, looping around her legs and aiming for the brambles just behind her, but Pyxis was faster. She scooped up the rat in her jaws and threw him against the nearest tree, effectively knocking him out. She picked him up again and looked back to the clearing, a black dog was taking on the sickly werewolf while Professor Snape seemed to be attempting to back the students back into the tunnel for safety. 

Foregoing caution for herself, she ran out from the bushes and dropped Pettigrew at Snape’s feet before running towards the fighting beasts. The black dog was thrown into the bushes once more and the werewolf turned towards Snape and the others, only to find Pyxis launching herself at him. She clamped down on his shoulder and used all of her weight to knock him over, the sickly werewolf howled in pain and went down. When she felt its body hit the earth, she let go and jumped back, growing up in the Forbidden Forest she learned many things about magical creatures and their dealings. How to fight against the ones that were bigger than her came with the package.

She let out a loud growl, making it so the other werewolf would focus on her and ignore the others. The sickly wolf did what she wanted and answered with one of his own. Their hackles rose and both bared their teeth, it sensed her challenge over the prey and snapped at the air in front of it.

The fight between beasts had begun. 

Pyxis charged forward the same time the sickly wolf did, teeth and claws clashed against fur and skin. Pain blazed up and down her body, her leg, her side, her neck; but she gave as good as she got, and when the two pulled apart, the both of them were covered in a myriad of wounds. The blood made her white fur turn red, and in the light of the moon, anyone looking at the fight would think that two demons had chosen to clash in front of the Whomping Willow. 

The black dog from earlier ran into the fray, vaulting itself onto the sickly wolf’s back and biting onto the juncture between the neck and the shoulder. An old twinge of pain went through Pyxis from her own bite, but she shook it off and growled, mimicking the dog’s attack, only from the front. The sickly wolf howled in pain and tried to claw the two of them off, but they held firm, claws and teeth digging deeply into the skin of the older wolf. A twinge of guilt fleeting through Pyxis briefly as she realized that Remus couldn’t control himself during this time. That when he returned to normal he would be riddled with scars he couldn’t remember, scars she put there. 

The sickly wolf dug its claws deeper into her back, making four deep gouges into the skin, and effectively driving out any pity. She and the black dog were forced to let go when the pain became too much to bear without crying out. 

By this time Snape and the others had managed to make it to safety, and the three beasts were able to fight without worry of hurting anyone but themselves. The black dog turned to her and asked, ‘Who are you?’ She panted hard between words as she said, ‘You don’t need to know… right now we need to get him… away from the school… think you’re up for it?’ The black dog barked in agreement and the two of them raced off into the woods, not realizing that three others were tailing them along with the sickly wolf. 

As the brush grew denser, Pyxis began to sense that something was severely wrong with this portion of the woods. All the life and joy that normally came from plants and animals seemed to be sapped dry, leaving behind a cold and desolate feeling. She stopped and looked around, hackles raised and instincts on high alert. The black dog halted a few feet ahead of her and turned around, ‘Something wrong?’ She raised her nose in the air and gave a sniff, the air was cold, and she could smell an ungodly amount of fear in the area. A shadow, like the one she saw when she first crossed, came up behind the black dog. Realizing what the shadow truly was she growled out, ‘BEHIND YOU!’ The black dog whirled around and froze at the sight of the shadow, no. 

He froze at the sight of the Dementor.

Pyxis felt pure terror course through her and she had to physically shove him to get his attention as she screamed, ‘RUN!’ She and the black dog took off, using their adrenaline and fear to get away from the thing behind them; their only hope was to evade it. To her left, Pyxis noticed that the sickly wolf had caught up to them, but instead of trying to attack like before, he was running as well. The fear from the three of them seemed to grow, and she noticed that more Dementors showed up out of nowhere, cornering them on all sides. ‘Why Are There Bloody DEMENTORS At Hogwarts!’ The three of them looped back around only to end up at a pond with no escape, Dementors swarmed the edges of the lake, so many that the night sky was blotted out by their ragged cloaks. All three beasts stepped back, unconsciously standing in ring, back to back. 

Pyxis felt the temperature of the air drop quickly, all the hope she had of getting out of this situation evaporating quickly. She watched as the Dementors came close enough to the black dog to make him fall to the ground, forcing him to shift back into his human form. The sickly wolf whined, and it too fell to the ground; its weak body trembling from the the fear and the cold. Memories that Pyxis had buried years ago were forced to the surface. A dark forest, malicious laughter, gleaming red eyes, silver masks, a green light, a dead boy. Death… death… so much death… 

The images Pyxis saw changed. 

A war. A massive bloody war that would shatter the foundations of the magical world. Death Eaters running rampant in Diagon; Muggleborns persecuted for being who they were; Voldemort killing a woman and feeding her to a snake; Draco and Harry… they were in Myrtle’s bathroom, resting in a pool of water and blood. Draco was gasping for air, Harry was screaming for help, fear clear in his eyes, the dark mark sticking out like an angry scar against Draco’s paling skin. She saw Sirius, the killing curse hitting him square in the chest and falling into a veil. She stood by as Hermione was being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange, the knife in the madwoman’s hand bloody from carving the other girls arm. MUDBLOOD is what her skin read. She was forced to be a bystander as Harry walked into the depths of the forest once again, this time completely alone, and she saw the green light flash from Voldemort’s wand. Watched as Harry fell dead on the forest floor; saw with horror the empty green eyes as the looked up at the sky. She remained frozen as Remus, fighting a bloody battle against a Death Eater, died instantly when the same curse that killed Sirius hits his back. 

Then she saw herself, empty blue eyes staring up at the sky, numerous wounds covering her body, her face barely recognizable for all the bruising. The robed figure stood over her, Death she realized, he was Death. Pyxis lay on a battlefield with a hundred others, the war having reaped its share of young blood, one of the many nameless corpses that would be burned at the end of the day. She screamed in the midst of her nightmare, which turned into a howl, and she came back to herself, finding that she was face to face with the decrepit hole that was a Dementor’s mouth. It was all too much to take in, so she just let go, she couldn’t do it anymore, she couldn’t fight. Merlin she wanted to get up and run, she wanted to find a way to save the others, but there were too many. So she closed her eyes and waited for the comforting embrace of Death to take her away.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM!!!!!” A burst of flaming bright light shone out from the darkness of the woods and her eyes shot open. A brilliant white stag galloped amongst the Dementors, skewering several on its antlers and turning them into a fine white dust. Those that managed to escape the deadly prongs fled off into the night sky, doing everything they could to avoid the ethereal creature. 

Pyxis watched as they fled, feeling a warm sense of relief flood through her tired limbs. She realized now that at some point she had fallen to the ground along with the other two, attempting to get up on shaky limbs, she turned her head slowly to see where the Stag originated from. Harry stood at the opposite end of the lake with Hermione and Draco right behind them, s. Giving a yip of thanks, she collapsed back onto the ground and rested her head on her paws, allowing herself to drift off.

~*~

Voices pierced the fog that kept her mind asleep, “What are we going to do with her?” “Well we can’t just leave her here?” “Are you both crazy?! Of course we can!” “Draco that’s horrible, she saved us from the werewolf!” “Have you already forgotten Granger? She’s a werewolf as well!” Pyxis groaned and rubbed her eyes, wincing at the foreign pain she felt in her arms, there was a quiet gasp and one of the voices said, “And I think she’s waking up.”

Cracking an eye open, Pyxis found that she was back in her room in the Shrieking Shack. As her body started to regain sensation, pain lanced up and down her arms and legs, a sharp stabbing sensation emanating from the center of her back. She bit her tongue and rolled herself onto her stomach, grabbed the closest thing; which turned out to be a cloak; and stuffed it in her mouth, letting out a muffled scream. The sound of rushing footsteps came from her right and a soft voice said, “Don’t move. That fight with Professor Lupin was pretty bad, you weren’t hurt too badly, but the wound on your back is the worst one. I think it might scar. Just hold still a moment.” 

It was then that she realized that she was dressed in her normal clothes. The ones she had stashed inside of the chest of drawers. A feeling of pure horror sank through her, with a hoarse voice she said, “Oh Merlin please tell me—” Hermione cut her off, “They didn’t see anything I promise. I dressed you, in the dark. Don’t worry.” Pyxis relaxed and let Hermione pour whatever was in the vial she was holding, onto her back.

A cool liquid spread across it, when the salve touched the claw marks along her back she hissed with the sting. Only to fall silent as the pain was immediately soothed by the salve, “Oh merlin that’s good. What is that?” The person chuckled, “Essence of Dittany. We had Draco go back to the school and steal some from Professor Snape so we could help you out.” The person shuddered, “I hope he doesn’t dock points.” Pyxis bit back a laugh, it was Hermione who was taking care of her then. Lifting her head up she noticed the boys had come up behind the other girl and were eyeing her warily.

Harry took a step closer and kneeled by the side of the bed, “How do you feel?” She gave him a blank look, her bones ached, there were several pains running up and down her limbs, and just a moment ago she felt like her back was stabbing her. “I’ll survive.” Harry nodded and got up, “That’s good, I don’t know how we’d explain a dead body amongst a escaped convict and a werewolf.” Pyxis’s eyes widened, “An escaped convict?! Who?!” Draco’s eyes narrowed while the other two looked at her in surprise, “How much did you see last night, before the whole fight with the… other werewolf.” She stared at him, “You still don’t trust me do you.” Draco scowled, “Just answer the question.” 

She rolled onto her back and sat up slowly, “I saw you three running into the tunnel under the Willow. Then you all came back out with Professor Snape unconscious.” Her mind caught up to the events that led her to be back in the Shack. Her Dad talking with Harry, Draco and Hermione carrying Red head, her father’s transformation, Red head yelping in pain. “THE RAT!” The other three jumped at her shout, “Please tell me you guys got the rat!” A dark look crossed Harry’s face as he answered her, “Don’t worry we got him. He’s being interrogated under Veritaserum by Professor Snape right about now.” Pyxis sighed in relief and sank back against the ruined bed, “Thank Merlin, Circe, and Nimue.” Draco raised an eyebrow, “How do you know about the rat?” Pyxis bit her lip, debating what she could and couldn’t say, “I heard about him from the war against Voldemort. My parents said he died in an explosion, mainly because he tried betraying your parents Harry.” 

Harry sat on the edge of the bed, his brow furrowed, “Tried and succeeded. But now he’s going to pay for his crimes… and Sirius will get to go free.” Pyxis was a little surprised at that, why would her Dad need to go free? Did something happen and he got arrested? Draco rounded on Harry, “Why would you tell her that?!” Harry shrugged, “Why not? Who is she going to tell, she’s going to disappear anyways, I’m surprised that she’s been here this long.” 

Shaking off her questions Pyxis realized just how long she’d been here. As the two boys continued to argue, her hand drifted to the other to seek out the comforting feel of the ring she wore; only to find that it wasn’t there. She looked down at her hand, the stone was missing, only a band of slightly lighter skin showing that it was ever there. Looking around the room, she tried to peer inside every nook and cranny from her seat on the bed. Quietly panicking with the idea that she wouldn’t be able to go home. Hermione noticed her distress and grabbed something from her pocket; holding it out she said, “Looking for this?” In the other girl’s palm sat the ring and its stone, Pyxis let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, “Yeah. Thanks.” 

She took the ring from the other girl and slipped it on her finger. Bracing herself for the light, for the familiar magic.

But it didn’t come.

Eyes widening slightly, she looked up; Hermione was looking at her with a confused expression, and the boys were still arguing. In the doorway behind them stood the robed figure, he gestured to the others in the room and said, “You may say goodbye to them before you cross.” She gave him a grateful smile and pushed herself out of bed, the boys stopped their yelling match and looked at her. Pyxis brushed some hair out of her face, “I’ve gotta go. They’re going to check on Professor Lupin and I soon, and I don’t think you wanna be caught when Madam Pomfrey comes up. You’re probably in enough trouble as it is.” Draco seemed to agree with that thought and raced out the door, Pyxis snickers, “Bloody Slytherins, always looking out for themselves.” 

Harry and Hermione laugh along with her, and she’s a little surprised they weren’t hot on his tail. Hermione says goodbye and walks out the door next, probably having a million questions for Pyxis, but knowing to leave well enough alone. Harry wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave a quick side hug, making Pyxis wince a little from the wounds on her shoulder, “Bugger. Sorry about that.” She waves him off, “Go on Harry. I’ll be alright.” Harry nods and walked out of the room, only to pop his head back in a few seconds later, “Think I’ll see you again sometime soon?” She shrugged, “Its not really up to me.” He gave her a quick salute before leaving the shack for good.

A hand squeezed her uninjured shoulder, “Do you think you’ll be able to make the trip back young one?” She smirks up at him and fiddled with her ring, “Like I told them, I’ll survive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for Reading! Kudos and Comments appreciated!  
> Come find me on tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bio-blegh


	9. Summer's Tale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date! No time to say "Hello!" so "Goodbye!" I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!
> 
> Sorry if this is late, been a very busy week, very tired. Has anyone caught on to the theme of the the summer interludes yet?

In the dead of night, Pyxis jolted up out of bed and screamed. Her hands fisted tightly in her comforter, eyes wide and glazed from sleep, she screamed as loud as she possibly could in hopes that it would scare her nightmare away. 

When her voice was raw and there was nothing more to shout she relaxed her hands and took a deep breath. Panting slightly as she lay back down against the pillows, wincing as the fabric of the bed and her night clothes rubbed against the scars on her back. “Its nothing… Its just a dream… nothing more than a dream… its just a dream.” The wind howled outside her window, making a couple branches knock against the glass, making her jump and her magic lash out. A mug that she’d forgotten to put away hurled itself at the wall next to the window and shatter.

Remus barged into the bedroom, wand drawn and eyes wary. When he saw no one in the room, he relaxed and looked towards the bed. Pyxis was curled into a ball, her pillows surrounding her on all sides, and her body completely covered by the comforter. He made his way over and sat at the edge, “Alright there Pup?” There was a whimpering noise and Pyxis said, “My scars…” Remus nodded and shifted closer, “Can I see?” The covers pulled back as Pyxis sat up, turning her back to her father, she lifted up the back of her shirt, wincing as the soft fabric ran across her skin.

Four angry red claw marks ran from the middle of her shoulder blades to the top of her waist line. Remus winced and told her to put her shirt back down, “Lets go downstairs, I think you need the salve again. Pyxis nods and steps out of bed, “Why do they hurt so much?” Remus frowned as they walked out of the room, “Its getting close to the full moon pup, all the scars that werewolves have, that are caused by ourselves or other werewolves, are going to hurt because the curse is embedded in them.” She whines a little as a twinge of pain runs down her back, “But do they have to hurt so damn much?” 

“Language Pyxis… but yes. I don’t know why. There’s nothing to be done. We just have to steer clear of those caves next time alright?” She nodded, when Death had crossed her back over the explanation her father had for the scars was that they’d come across a rogue pack of wolves in the caves they had explored that night. Remus managed to keep them at bay for a while, but one of the wolves managed to evade him and attacked her.

It was a little farfetched considering her father was a force of nature whenever it came to protecting her or her Dad, but if she didn’t have to explain the scars she was fine with it. They reached the kitchen to find Sirius already rummaging around the cabinets. He pulled out a vial from the topmost shelf and turned around, “Ok which of you needs it this time?” Remus points to Pyxis, “Her back is acting up.” Sirius nodded and pulls out a stool, “Have a seat Pixie, this won’t hurt a bit.” She nodded once and lifted up the back of her shirt, tensing a bit when the cool air ran across her skin.

Sirius pours the cooling salve onto his hand and rubs it slowly over her back, the salve is cool and smooth. The magic numbing the area effectively and turning the burning sensation into nothing. When the salve has done its work, she pulls her shirt back down and straightened out. 

The sound of a kettle whistling pierced through the air, Remus picked it up off the burner and poured out three cups of tea. One plain black tea, one with a bit of cream, and one that was mostly sugar and cream with a drop of tea in it. In his tiredness, Remus handed the straight tea to Pyxis, the sugary tea to Sirius, and kept the cream for himself. All of them took a sip at the same time and grimaced. Looking down into the mug Pyxis blinked, “This isn’t mine.” Sirius looked at his mug and hers, “Well I’m not giving you this. Its mine now.” 

She frowned at him and Remus took the mug from her, “This is mine, I’ll fix this one,” He pointed to the cup he drank from, “The way you like it. Ungodly amount of sweet and all.” She snickered and rubbed her eyes, “Whilst your father is making this delicious confection of yours, care to tell us what the nightmare was about this time?” Pyxis looked at her feet and frowned, “… s’no big deal. They’re just dreams anyway.” A calloused hand touched her shoulder and she looked up, “Pixie you’ve been having nightmares ever since the end of first year. We agreed then that every time you had a nightmare, we would talk about it. At least to assure you that it wasn’t real and that you were safe. Don’t go back on that now.”

She looked back down at her feet and bit her lip. Pyxis had promised, and so far she’d honored that promise, she’d told them about every nightmare that had stemmed from her encounters after crossing. Never telling them about the crossing itself though, Death made it clear that she wasn’t allowed. But this nightmare… How was she supposed to explain it when it was clearly so deeply embedded in a war she wasn’t even alive for?

A mug was placed in her hands and she looked up, Remus was leaning down in front of her and giving her an encouraging smile. “They’re only dreams right? There’s no shame if they’re silly, or if they are embarrassing, but its bad to keep things locked away. You and I know are a bit too familiar with that. So you don’t have to tell us all of it, lets try a little at a time, and go from there.” Pyxis looked down at the mug in her hand, the liquid was light and frothy, it smelled of warmth and sugar. She took a sip and nodded, “… It was weird… I’m not sure how to explain it…” Sirius took a seat next to her and placed a comforting arm around her, “Try.”

She closed her eyes, grasping at the fading images from her dream, “There were Dementors everywhere, and I was running, I think. But they surrounded me and everything just felt cold. Then one of the Dementors grabbed my face and tried sucking out my soul, but instead of dying I ended up somewhere else.” Her grip on the mug tightened, glancing up at her parents, she saw only patience and worry in their faces, with a deep breath she continued, “I was somewhere else then, still running. Then something hit me from the back… and it started clawing into my back. Along the same lines of where my scars are, only the claws kept on digging and digging until they… until they ran though to my front.”

Her hand moved to the center of her chest, the feeling of the claw tearing through her sternum and ripping out her heart still vivid in her mind. “When I was dead from that I showed up in front of the school. I was lying in the ground, there was ash everywhere and I think I was dead there too. But… I wasn’t the only one, everything was dead. The earth, the forest, the school… all of it.” Remus’s brow furrowed, “Dead how?” 

“… You know how you can always feel the magic surrounding the school? How you know its… its watching over everyone?” Her parents nod, “It didn’t feel like that… The stones were just that, the ground was barren, there was just me…” She trailed off, her nightmare was fading, as all dreams do, and she looked away. 

“Thats… Thats all I can remember.” Remus and Sirius looked at one another, having a silent conversation before looking back to their daughter and holding her tight. “Its alright Pixie. Its probably just something your brain cooked up after we watched that scary movie earlier. Nothing to worry about.” She leaned into Sirius’s side and breathed in his scent, “Ok.” Remus kissed the side of her head, “Your dad’s right pup. Don’t worry about a thing, like we said, its just a dream.” Pyxis wrapped an arm around Remus and clutched him tightly, needing to be close with the two of them, taking comfort in their words.

The three of them stayed like that for a long time, none of them wanting to move in fear of shattering this sense of safety that they had built. Remus and Sirius were worried for their daughter, but they knew better than to suggest going to see a mind healer. She’d inherited her tenacity from the two of them, her strength unwavering alongside her stubbornness. It was in these small moments that she would allow herself to fall, if only a tiny bit. And they would always be there to hold her up when she did.

It was two in the morning when the three finally decided to head back to bed. Her parents made sure to tuck her in and kiss her goodnight, despite her protests of being fourteen years old, “I’m almost an adult for Helga’s sake!” Sirius smiled and took hold of her stuffed elephant, “Well since you’re almost an adult, I guess you don’t need Pooky nearby anymore do you?” Pyxis grabbed her elephant and held it close to her chest, “Pooky’s different, she’s a good pillow.” Remus snorted and she glared at him, “You can’t say anything! You cuddle Dad every night, its the same principle, only my cuddle partner doesn’t snore nearly as loud.” 

Sirius whacked her with a pillow and she fell back, “Its true!” They say goodnight one more time, Remus making a snoring noise to emphasize Pyxis’s point before the door closed behind them. Alone in her room once more, Pyxis punched her pillow to fluff it up and closed her eyes. Sleep overtaking her quickly as she held her elephant close. A dream whisking her away almost as soon as her breathing slows.

The sun shines down brightly over the fields in front of Hogwarts. The grass swaying in the spring wind as fluffy white clouds drifted overhead. Pyxis was dressed in a loose shirt and denims, her bare feet sinking a bit in the soft earth as she walked across the new grass. Birds chirped high overhead and the sound of laughter echoed out from within the castle’s walls, everything was humming with life and beauty. 

Stuffing her hands in her pockets, Pyxis continued her walk until she made it to the Black Lake. The giant squid breached the surface and gave a friendly wave as it passed and she waved back haphazardly. Sitting down on the shore she picked up a few flat rocks and began to toss them out, the first made only three skips, the second five, but when she was about to launch the third, a voice from behind startled her and the rock just splashed and sank to the bottom. “Now… I think that counts as one don’t you?” She glared at the person behind her and leaned back on her hands, “I wouldn’t know. I think that would be more your area, seeing as you’ve never managed to make it past the one skip.” 

Draco sneers and took a seat next to her, “My skills are placed in more, complex activities than in such things as skipping rocks.” Pyxis snorted, “Oh yes. Playing exploding snap after repeatedly getting blown up and angrily throwing around Wizard’s chessboards because Harry decided to equip his pieces with real swords is definitely more complex than skipping rocks.” Draco scowled and gave her a half-hearted shrug, “I don’t always lose.” She bites back a laugh, “That’s true, you win only… once out of every ten games. But who’s counting.” 

Bracing herself for another shove, she gave a surprised yelp when a pair of strong arms picked up and threw her over the their shoulder, “Ah! What?! Harry!” Her god brother snickered and ran straight for the lake, wading in until he was ankle deep before throwing her into the ice cold water. After a bit of flailing, Pyxis breached the surface and screamed, “HARRY JAMES POTTER YOU ARE SO DEAD!” She grabbed him by his ankles and pulled his legs out from under him, ensuring that he was fully soaked from head to toe. 

Back at the shore, Draco was laughing so hard they were on the ground and clutching their stomachs. Harry and Pyxis looked at each other once, nodded, and then raced towards their friends to drag them into the water. When all three of them were fully soaked, and wholly exhausted from an impromptu splash war, they lay on the warm sand and waited for their clothes to dry. 

A hand touched Pyxis’s and gripped it tightly, she smiled and used the other to reach for the person’s next to her. In the next moment the three of them were a chain connected only by their linked fingers. The birds sung high overhead and they each took turns trying to guess what the clouds looked like, all of them laughing when Draco said one looked like Snape if he was a woman. Though it was only a dream, Pyxis couldn’t help but enjoy this moment, everything was as it should be, the war she had been thrown into was only a distant nightmare. Meant to be forgotten when morning broke overhead.

In the distance, Death looked on. Letting the young girl enjoy one of the many possibilities that could be the outcome of her crossings. For now he would let her believe it was all a dream, that he wasn’t risking reality by bringing her to the future once more. But it had to be done, he’d lost so many people, so many timelines because he believed those who crossed were strong enough to continue through the horrors they faced. He was as old as time itself, and yet he was just barely learning from his mistakes. So as the three children from their various worlds lay relaxing under the noonday sun, death took care as the edges faded and pull the young girl back towards her home.

The dream faded and she smiled in her sleep, knowing that despite the horrors she saw when she crossed, despite the scars she got from said horrors. Pyxis knew she would be alright, that they all would be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for Reading! Comments and Kudos appreciated!  
> Come find me on tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bio-blegh


	10. Bets and Breakdowns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Update time!!! Ok fourth year is finally here, I have been so excited to write this part of the story ever since I started writing it. So this year is gonna be a bit longer the rest, three chapters instead of the usual two, mainly because I want the Yule ball to be a chapter in itself. Also, we get to see some cute beginnings of young love. Its corny I know, but hey I like writing them like this. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I'm American and attempting to write the British language, so if I get anything wrong I'm extremely sorry! Another thing, their is a bit of underage smoking going on here, not sure when its ok over in the UK, but its definitely a no no here in the states. So don't do what these kids are doing alright?

Pyxis sat on one of the benches in the Great Hall with her chin resting in her hands. Since the beginning of the term, and the start of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, several of the younger students have tried their luck at duping the age line and entering their names into the Goblet of Fire. So far people had tried transfigurations, aging potions, and even just vaulting over the line itself. All of the attempts ending in utterly hilarious failure. This time it was Harry and Draco who where attempting to cross the line with their own version of the aging potion. 

Blaise and Hermione came to sit next to her and Hermione said, “Shouldn’t you stop them?” Pyxis sighed and turned to her friend, “I’ve told them not to do it about a hundred times this past week, but ever since they saw Cedric put his name in, they’ve been on the war path.” Hermione snorted, “Think they’ve figured it out yet?” Pyxis shook her head, “I’d give it another year, give or take a month.” Blaise raised an eyebrow, “Care to put your money where your mouth is?” She gave him a sly smile and nudged him, “Well… I’ve already got a bet running with ‘Mione here. Why not another?” Blaise’s eyebrow arched higher, his grin making him look like the Cheshire cat, “Oh? Do tell.” 

Pyxis debated for a moment before leaning in close towards him. She watched his dark brown eyes grow wide, heard his blood begin to thunder in his veins, and felt the heat radiating off of him. “Alright.” She leaned her head towards his ear, close enough that her lips ghosted over the shell, she waited for just a few moments, acting like she was letting him in on some big secret before screaming out, “BOO!” Blaise jumped a mile high and Pyxis reeled back laughing, he glared at her and cradled his ear, “Bloody Fuck! You’re a right brat you know that?” She snickered and gave an apologetic smile, “Sorry, but that’s what you get for being nosey. I thought you Slytherins knew better than to just expect an answer, tit for tat and all that.” He scowled at her and looked back to where Harry and Draco were toasting each other before they downed their aging potion. 

When Blaise refused to look at her, she frowned and nudged him, “Hey.” He glanced towards her once and then focused back on the boys, “I’m sorry. Listen I know it was rude, but you’re too nosey for your own good.” He still didn’t look at her, so she placed a hand on his knee, “C’mon Blaise look at me.” When he didn’t, Pyxis felt guilt curl uncomfortably in her stomach and stuffed her hands in her pockets, fingers bumping against the box her Dad had put there without her Father knowing. As her fingers curled around the familiar cardboard, she got an idea.

Pulling out the box and making sure none of the Professors were around, she popped off the top and nudged Blaise with her elbow. He turned to glare at her, but stopped when he saw what was in her hand, “Want one?” He looked up at her and then back down at her hand, the box of clove cigarettes resting easily against her palm, “Where did you get those?” She smiled and pulled one out, “My Dad gave em to me for my birthday last year, said he thought I was old enough to try one.” Casting a quick disillusionment charm on it, she lit the end with the tip of her wand and handed it to him. He took it and looked at it with disinterest, “And if the Professors smell the smoke?” She smirked, “These are magic cigarettes, no ill effects, no addiction, just really sweet smoke, and no trace when you’re done.” He seemed to accept the idea and took a long drag.

The three of them relaxed against the bench as Harry and Draco readied to jump over the age line. Pyxis said, “stop. no. don’t do it,” in a dry voice and waited for the inevitable. The boys lasted behind the line for a few moments before a large pulse of magic hurled them back into the lower benches. Pyxis winced alongside Hermione and got up to check on them, completely forgetting to continue apologizing to Blaise. She helped them up and bit her tongue when she noticed their hair had turned pure white and they’d both sprouted beards. 

“You said it would work!” “I said it might work!” “You screwed us up!” “Me?! Who thought it was a good idea to use boomslang skin instead of an arbor root!” The boys launched themselves at one another, attempting to knock each other senseless. Pyxis grunted and pulled them both away from each other, “Stop it the both of you!” Neither listened to her and tried to get out of the hold she had them, “Oh for the love of Helga!” Releasing them a tiny bit and gripping the backs of their collars, she pushed the two of them together and made sure that their heads cracked together. “OW!” “MERLIN!” Both boys stepped back, clutching the bumps forming on their foreheads and scowled up at her, “What was that for?” She turned to Harry and gave him a withering look, “Being the pair of prats that you are. What did I tell you when Dumbledore revealed the Goblet? No one under the age of seventeen was going to get past that line.” Draco returned her look with one of his own, “We almost had it! If Harry—” 

She let out a warning growl, cutting Draco off by saying, “If Harry nothing. You both knew that no spell or potion you brewed was going to be effective against Dumbledore’s magic, now we’re all going to the Hospital Wing and getting these damn things off.” Both began to protest again and she grabbed both by their ears, “If I hear another word out of either of you, I’ll tell Madam Pomfrey it was you two who changed all of her boil cures into ones that would make the boils sing.” They shut up after that.

As the three of them made their way out of the Great Hall, Blaise finished his cigarette and vanished it without a word. Blaise pouted as he looked towards the exit to the hall and said, “She still hasn’t apologized properly.” Hermione snorted and shook her head, “yes she did, you’re just too dense to realize it.” He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, “How?” She pointed to the space in between the two of them and he looks down. The pack of cigarettes is left opened and upright, only one missing from the entire pack. Blaise’s eyes widen as Hermione says, “Her Dad did give them to her, and told her to only use them if she really needed to. She hasn’t opened them since her fourteenth birthday, and even then only to look at them. She hasn’t had one yet either.” 

He picks up the box and turns it around in his hands, the label, DJINNI, is still wrapped up in the plastic it came in. Hermione stood up and stretched out, “Don’t forget to give those back to her,” before hopping down the benches to head to her next class. Blaise continued sitting there, fiddling with the box between his hands, a small smile dancing on his lips.

~*~

Pyxis burst through the Barrel leading to the Hufflepuff Basement and shouted, “DRAGONS!” From the top of her lungs. Several younger students looked at her with confusion, whilst Cedric shot up from his seat on the couches and stared at her wide eyed, “Are you sure?” She placed her hands on her knees and panted hard, attempting to catch her breath as she said, “I… Did not… just run… through the Forbidden Forest… all the way back here… to have you ask… are you sure.” The other Hufflepuffs burst into action, pulling books from the shelves, discussing spells that would be effective against such a terrifying creature, and others running for the Barrel to get to the library and grab food for what was probably going to be a long night. 

Susan, Hannah, and Neville led Pyxis to the couches and gave her a glass of water, Cedric took a seat next to her and waited patiently to hear out the rest of what she had to say. After wiping her mouth on her sleeve Pyxis began, “I went for a walk to clear my head while the boys were getting de-bearded and I think I walked a little too far. There were dragons in cages in one of the clearings, a bunch of dragon handlers running around trying to keep them calm. They were carrying weird golden things, maybe the size of a Quaffle, but oblong.” One of the her housemates spoke up from one of the tables, “Do you know what kind of dragons?” 

She thought for a bit before saying, “I only knew two out of the three of them, one was a Welsh Green and the other one was a Hungarian Horntail.” The Hufflepuff nodded and asked, “Can you describe the third one?” She nodded, “It was red, with weird spikes growing out of the back of its head, pretty skinny, big eyes… Oh! It had a snub nose.” “Sounds like a Chinese Fireball, we don’t have any books on those here.” “We got em!” The group that had headed out to the library came back armed to the teeth with texts on defensive spells against dragons and the dragons themselves. The second group followed close behind with pumpkin juice, sandwiches, chips, and crisps. 

Now that they were prepared they all set to work. All the Hufflepuffs in the room split into three groups, one for dragon research, one for spell work, and one for scenario running. They all ran Cedric through as much as they could, telling him what the weak points of each dragon was, what spells would work best, and discussing what kind of tactics he would use in the ring. The students in year three and below were asked to be runners between the groups and pass along information and food. When it got to be almost midnight, they were ushered to their dorms and told to go to bed despite their sleepy-eyed protests.

The fire in the brazier was nothing more than embers by the time they got through all of the information they gathered. And by then everyone had nodded off where they sat. Cedric was sleeping on the table with several upper years where they had been going over scenarios again. Neville and Hannah were leaning against each other as they slept, heads resting comfortably on the bean bags next to two tall piles of books on Dragons. Susan had her mouth open on one of the couches, several loose pieces of parchment sticking to her hands, ink smears running up and down the inside of her palms. Pyxis was the only one still awake, and that was because she was forcing herself to be. 

With a yawn she murmured a levitation charm over all the blankets in the room and proceeded to cover as many people as she could. The blankets usually ended up covering someone completely, but if they got hot they could always move. She reached Cedric and moved the piece of parchment out from under his face and draped the blanket over his shoulders. He murmured something like, “Jamie…” in his sleep, she rolled her eyes and whispered, “You’ll see him after the first task, calm down.” She settled down on a bean bag curled into a ball, pulling the blanket up around her when she was comfortable. She pointed the tip of her wand at the sconces in the room and whispered, “Nox.”

~*~

The day of the first challenge is cold and dreary. Clouds heavily laden with snow fly high overhead, the wind bites at pink cheeks, and the air is filled with tiny clouds from the student’s warm breath . But no matter how cold it is, no one could feel it when the first Champion took to the field.

Excitement ran throughout the stadium as the burly figure of Victor Krum stepped out onto the rocky landscape to face his dragon. The Durmstrang students were shouting and chanting, their confidence in his skill making the students from the other schools feel a bit less sure of their own Champions. But when the Chinese Fireball comes out and nearly burns off what’s left of the famous seeker’s hair, they realize its anyones game. He manages to get the golden egg in under twenty minutes, but not without burning most of his robes first. Some polite applause is given and the next Champion walks up, her golden hair catching on the remaining shafts of light. Pyxis covers her eyes with gloved hands and leans close to Zabini, he keeps his hands on her shoulders and says, “Yeah she does that to me too.”

After maybe thirty minutes of hearing a dragon roar and feeling the heat of its flames, the gong is rung, signifying that Fleur Delacour has finally managed to grab the egg. When Pyxis removes her hands from her face she looks up at Blaise, “Thanks for that.” With a slight pink tint to his cheeks he mutters, “No problem.”

The temperature drops a little more and Pyxis scoots closer to Blaise, the wind biting into her skin and driving warmth further and further away. She feels him tense up and she looks up at him, “You ok?” He nods slowly, “Yeah… yeah I’m fine.” But he doesn’t relax, his body is like furnace and burns even hotter the longer Pyxis leans against him. Hermione looks at her two friends and rolls her eyes, turning to Draco and Harry she says, “He’s figured it out. Pay up.” Harry and Draco look back and Harry’s brow furrows, “No way. The deal was that they both needed to figure it out.” Draco smirks, “How about we raise the stakes?” The other two leaned closer and Hermione raised an eyebrow, “How?” 

Draco pointed down to Cedric, who was making his way into the field to face his own dragon, “I think that there’s going to be some kind of misunderstanding with Cedric in the near future, and I think that’s going to be the tipping point for them. The only question now, is how long it will take before Blaise loses it.” Hermione bets sometime before christmas break, Draco says within two weeks time, and Harry bets that it’ll happen somewhere in the middle.

When Cedric comes out in under twenty minutes, but two minutes longer than Krum, the Hufflepuffs go wild and meet up with him in the Champion’s tent. They cheer and sing his praises, even if he didn’t win second place is good too. And then he says he couldn’t have done anything without their help, “Especially Pixie here, who always has to be at the wrong place at the right time!” They give three cheers for her and she blushes, turning redder than any of her friends have ever seen, saying, “I just went for a walk! Merlin, anyone could have seen the damn things!” Off to the side sit her four friends, come to support their Champion and give credit where credit is due. Hermione, Harry, and Draco join the Hufflepuffs in cheers, making it especially embarrassing for Pyxis. Blaise kept a reserved smile and clapped politely for Cedric, but when the older boy wrapped an arm around Pyxis and said she was brilliant he froze.

Pyxis turned even redder than before and nearly shouted, “It was a bloody walk! Stop putting me on a pedestal for a walk! You were the one who had to fight the damn thing!” The others laughed and shook their heads, Cedric tightening his arm a bit to ruffle her hair, making the mess of unruly curls more unruly than usual. She shoved him off, but gave him a warm smile anyway, “Dork.” He pecked her cheek platonically and said, “Brat.” If it was possible to turn even redder, she did just that and turned towards the entrance of the tent. Where there once stood a certain Slytherin, now stood only open air. She looked around the tent, hoping to catch sight of his tall frame; confusion dampening her mood when he was nowhere to be found.

~*~

Pyxis was walking around the castle ground when she felt the familiar tug on her ring hand. It had been a long while since she’d seen the other boys, so she followed the tug of magic and let the robed figure lead her along. A bony hand took hers and she felt the familiar rush of air and squeeze of pressure.

When her eyes opened again she found herself under very different skies than where she’d began. The clouds were darker, the wind was frosty, but there wasn’t a single flurry of snow to be found. The grounds were barren in the early comings of winter, unlike where she came, where winter had decided to come full swing. She looked back at the front of the castle to find a familiar group of students sitting on one of the front benches. Smiling, she tucked her hands into her robe pockets and walked up to them. It was Harry who caught sight of her first, green eyes growing wide as she continued to get closer, “Hiya.” The others turn towards her and get the same shocked look plastered on their faces

She stops just in front of the bench they’re sitting on and raises an eyebrow, “Is it really that surprising to see me again?” Draco’s eyes narrow, “Well it would be since the last we saw of you, you were in a broken bed with your back torn open.” She looked at her robe covered shoulder, the scars were fainter now, but they grew an angry red every full moon, “Well as you can see, I’m still alive and kicking.”

Draco’s face darkened as he said, “You also forgot to mention the fact that no one seems to know you exist but us.” Pyxis blinked slowly, guess they found her out already, “Really? You sure?” Draco’s face scrunched up in anger, “Of course I’m sure! We asked Pomfrey about you after we left the Shack and she looked at us like we were crazy. We asked Professor Lupin if he knew about the other Werewolf in Hogwarts before he left and he said there was no one but him. We even asked Si- Snuffles, if he knew who you were and he said that there was no one else but us and him that night Lupin attacked. So that begs the question, who are you?!” His eyes were cold, wary, Harry and Hermione were sitting close to him, they seemed to be warmer to her than he was, but they looked as if they were trying to figure Pyxis out by just looking at her.

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, “I guess I haven’t properly introduced myself. Though, I think I get a pass since every time I show up I gotta save your lives.” Harry nodded at that, Hermione’s eyes widened, and Draco just scowled, tapping his foot impatiently, “I’m Pyxis. Just Pyxis. I’m a Hufflepuff fourth year. I’ve got an idiot cousin and an idiot god brother who are too dense to see whats in front of them. A best friend in Ravenclaw who helps me when I’m stuck in class, another in Slytherin who still hasn’t given me my cigarette pack back, and a third in Hufflepuff that treats me like his little sister. Meanwhile his real little sister has it out for me. And I follow around a robed figure whenever he comes calling because I’m too curious for my own good. That about sum it up for you?” 

Draco was a little taken aback with her blatant admission, Hermione looked fit to bursting with all the questions she probably had. Quietly, Harry added, “You forgot about the werewolf thing.” Pyxis stared at him surprised, he looked at the table and fiddled with his hands, “Well you did.” She stayed silent for about five seconds before laughing brightly, Draco seemed to come back to himself and turned cold once more, but Harry and Hermione relaxed considerably. When she caught her breath she said, “Yes, I’m a werewolf. I was bitten when I was about a month old, and yes its a miracle I even survived my first transformation. I think that covers all of it.” 

Hermione moved on the bench so Pyxis could sit comfortably and said, “I think so, still doesn’t explain why no one seems to remember you whenever we ask.” Pyxis sat down and said, “I’m not sure either, but whoever brings me here seems to take care of that when he brings me home.” Hermione seemed to ponder this for a bit while Draco leaned away from her and crossed his arms, Pyxis glanced at him, “You still don’t trust me.” He didn’t look her way, “No I don’t.” She nodded, “Ok.” Draco glanced her way, “don’t you want me to trust you?” Pyxis shook her head, “No, I just need you to let me help you when it comes down to it.” Harry snorted, “That sounds a lot like trust to me.” 

Hermione elbowed him, “She means he doesn’t have to trust her all the time.” He winced and rubbed his side, “Ow ‘Mione.” Pyxis snickered, “Go easy on him. Anyway, what are all of you doing out here? Its freezing.” The three frowned as Draco said, “The first task for the tournament’s coming up. We don’t know what its going to be though, and we’ve been researching like mad for the past month.” Pyxis shrugged, “Well its not like any of you are the champions, so I don’t see the need to worry.” Harry turned to her, his brow furrowed in confusion “… um… maybe you’re not, but the Goblet of Fire spat out my name, so it is kind of a worry.” Pyxis blinks at him, “The Goblet of Fire. The one where no student under seventeen has made it past the age line. Spat out your name.” He nods once, “Did you even attempt to enter your name in the Goblet?” He shook his head and Pyxis pinched the bridge of her nose, “Of course it did. The Goblet just decided to think you know what this kid’s life isn’t hellish enough from what I’ve heard, so I’ll throw him into a competition that could potentially kill him.” 

She leaned back against the bench and continued, “Because you know you’re only fourteen, nothing could possibly go wrong. I mean nothing’s gone wrong in the previous years, why not this one too!” She pushed herself off of the bench and started pacing, “I mean you definitely handled first year well, what with Quirrel nearly killing you and me, and the fact that Voldemort was controlling him because he was stuck to the back of the guy’s head!” Hermione and Draco’s eyes went wide, “Wait you were the girl Harry was talking about?!” Pyxis ignored them, “And lets not forget second year, fucking blood on the walls and cats getting petrified. You were completely fine when facing that Giant Fucking Snake! Not only that, but you had the situation completely under control when Voldemort came out of a book and set said snake on the three of us! Yeah that was just peachy!” Harry and Hermione got up and tried to get her to calm down, saying things like, “We’re here aren’t we?” “Its going to be fine.” But Pyxis was angry, not at Harry, or at anyone around her. Just angry that this world seemed so keen on making this Harry’s life hell.

So she batted away any calming hands and kept on going, “Lets not forget last year either. I mean really, everyone was perfectly fine with you going after your parents murderer, that bloody sellout Pettigrew! You seemed completely competent in fighting off a werewolf that had been taking the wolfsbane potion for so long that he was more crazed than normal! Hell you were definitely ready to take on hundred of fucking DEMENTORS! Which by the way I still don’t know why they were there! But you were good, you were fine!”

She stopped, fists clenched and whirled around, screaming out into the open air, “So sure why not throw a fourteen year old boy into one of the most deadly competitions of all known magical history!!! Why not! Throw him with only the spells that he’s learned from the past four years, certainly they’ll help!” She tugged on her hair and gritted her teeth, “We’ve definitely learned about how to handle dragons! How to steal an egg from them should be a piece of cake right?! You’re definitely capable of handling all that, especially under Thirty Fucking Minutes!!!! You’re not just some fourteen year old kid that wanted to have a normal year, could have had a normal year if that stupid Goblet hadn’t spat your name out! But you know what?! You’re completely capable of participating in this competition, So Why the Fuck NOT!”

When Pyxis was all done screaming at the air, she sank towards the ground and took a deep shuddering breath. The other three just stared at the strange girl. They’d didn’t know her well, they knew nothing except that whenever she came, she saved their lives and helped in solving their problems. They thought she was like some sort of genie, always coming when they wished to the most. They didn’t think she cared about them, they thought she was detached, coming and going whenever she liked. Draco felt his opinion of her change and he walked over, resting a tentative hand on her shoulder he asked, “You said that he had to face dragons?” She looked up and nodded, her eyes looking tired, one of her hands moving to rub at the juncture between her neck and shoulder, “In under thirty minutes too. Think you guys can handle that?” Draco nodded and she relaxed, leaning into his touch she said, “Sorry.” Harry sat down next to her, with Hermione on his other side, and asked “For what?”

Pyxis blew out a breath, feeling the anger in her leave slowly, “Blowing up like that. I didn’t mean to get so mad.” She bit her lip and curled her legs towards her chest, “People usually get scared when I do that. You know, because of the werewolf thing.” Draco’s hand stiffens and she braces herself, waiting to feel him pull away. He was scared last year, she thought it was because he didn’t want to be caught by Pomfrey, but she knew better now. Her Draco knows not to be, that she’s still human and wouldn’t hurt anyone if she could, but this Draco doesn’t. So she waited for the familiar absence that would come from someone lifting their hand, and listened for the tell tale sound of footsteps fading away. But he didn’t do that. He only tightened his grip and sat down on her other side, making sure to keep his hand on her shoulder even after he sat down.

When he got comfortable he asked, “Do you know what kind of Dragons?” Pyxis snickers and nudges Draco, “Well considering you’re not in a cage right now, definitely not pale pointy ones.” He scowls and nudges her back, getting a laugh from Harry and Hermione, “The one’s I saw were a Chinese Fireball, a Hungarian Horntail, and a Welsh Green. That’s about all I know.” They nod and continue looking out, Harry leans back on his hands, “We trust you, you know. Draco’s just got a funny way of showing it, so don’t take his prattishness to heart.” She nods tiredly, her eyes beginning to flutter shut as Harry says, “Thanks for being worried though.” Pyxis smiles a little and reaches for both boys hands, “I’m always gonna worry about you guys, s’what I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for Reading!!!!Kudos and Comments Appreciated!!!   
> Come find me on tumblr:  
> http://bio-blegh.tumblr.com


	11. Balls and Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IT IS TIME!!!!! I finally got around to this part of Fourth year and am so excited to share it with you. I have been fixated on this stupid ball since I started writing, well this and a few other scenes, but this is IMPORTANT! So enjoy a little romance for our dear Pyxis before we get back into the hectic life she has in store. Its a bit longer than normal, but that means more cuteness for you guys!!!

A week after Pyxis returns from her crossing the Hufflepuff’s were summoned into the Great Hall by their head of house. Professor Sprout smiled warmly at them as all of the upper years took their seats on the benches against the walls, “If you’ll wait just a few more minutes before we begin, I couldn’t get the Hall just for us so we’ll have to learn alongside the Slytherins.” Two minutes later Snape walked in with his own upper years in tow, he sneered over at the Hufflepuffs and walked up to Professor Sprout, “Pomona.” The Head of Hufflepuff smiled brightly at the sour Head of Slytherin, “Severus, I apologize that we had to teach our students at the same time, but with my work in the greenhouses and your own in the dungeons—” Snape cut her off with a wave of his hand, “While I understand your need to explain for this debacle, I do believe we have two rather large groups of students to teach.” 

Undeterred by his subtle jibe, Professor Sprout clapped her hands together and said, “Ah yes!” She turned to her students, “Alright everyone, since the Yule Ball is coming up, Dumbledore has asked us to teach you how to dance appropriately for such an occasion.” Titters broke out amongst the students, some grumbled, some wondered the point, and some were excited. Snape sent a glare at all of them and the titters stopped, allowing for Professor Sprout to continue, “Now seeing as we have two houses with us today, we’ll start off by pairing you up, one Hufflepuff to every Slytherin and vice versa.” When no one moved from their spots Professor Sprout sighed, “Very well, I believe Professor Snape and I will just have to pair you up.” 

With a lot of reluctance from the Slytherin side of the room, everyone was paired up with someone from the opposite house. Harry was paired up with Susan, Draco with Hannah, and Blaise with Pyxis. So that there was a sense of fairness, Snape and Sprout paired together to teach the students, “Remember boys! One hand with your partner’s, the other on the waist.” Snape was sneering the whole while he was partnered with Sprout.

Pyxis smiled up at Blaise and they moved their hands to the proper positions, Pyxis whispered, “Do you know how to ballroom dance?” Blaise snorted, “I’m from a pureblood family remember, I was taught how to dance as soon as I could walk.” He raised an eyebrow, “How about you?” She smirked, “Did you forget? My dad’s a Black, well, was.” The sound of a gramophone sounded and a slow waltz began to play, whilst they had been talking Snape and Sprout had been telling the other students where to put their feet for the normal waltz. As the beat continued, Blaise lead Pyxis through the steps with ease, neither of them needing to even think twice about where to place their feet. Off to the side, Snape and Sprout had split up, going about correcting the other student’s steps and hands. Occasionally they spied the two waltzing flawlessly in the middle of the Great Hall, an occasional chuckle or snort coming from either one of them.

The waltz was growing dull as Pyxis and Blaise repeated the same steps over and over again. Her foot swept behind her for about the tenth time in ten minutes when Blaise said, “Fancy making things interesting?” Pyxis looked up and raised an eyebrow, “How so?” Blaise smirked, “Do you know the Viennese Waltz?” Her eyes widened, “yes.” “Then I think you should enjoy this next part.” She watched as Blaise slid his wand from its holster on his arm and cast a subtle charm towards the record player to up the tempo. The other students tried to keep up with the new speed, but many were sent bumping into one another or treading on their partner’s toes. 

Pyxis snickered, “You’re evil Blaise Zabini.” He grinned, “I thought you knew that already Pyxis Lupin.” She snorted and rolls her eyes, feet picking up the tempo, hands gripping slightly tighter. They rest on the balls of their feet and begin to rise and fall as the dance required. Their robes flow out and swish at their feet, the slight drag in their steps causing scuffing on the sides of their shoes. But they couldn’t care less. They float on the notes, spinning and stepping in exact time of the music. She tilts her head back ever so slightly, and he tilts his own head forward, both of them getting lost in the sound. 

He twirls her and her curls fly out in a large fan, she isn’t facing him, and she reaches out blindly, hoping to feel a familiar grip. His hand is right where it should be and he leads her back into the familiar rhythm. ‘Forward, Back, Forward, Back, Same, Same, twirl.’ The steps flow into her head on a repeat at the end of every beat. She smiles up at him and says, “Quite the show off aren’t you Mister Zabini?” He gives her one of his famous knee-weakening smiles and replies, “Please Miss Lupin. If anyone is the show off here, its you.” His smile makes several other girls in the room sigh, several of the boys in the room making a mental note to learn the technique. She rolls her eyes and says, “Flattery will get you nowhere.” 

The song was ending and the two of them began to slow in their rotations, focusing only on each other. Pyxis noticed a different look was in his eyes, something buried deeper than his normal arrogant façade. It was so bright, so warm, and the smile that came with it… well, she couldn’t help but return it with one of her own.

The final notes played out and the two of them stopped in the center of the Great Hall, finally realizing that they had an audience. When the stylus on the Gramophone skipped, signaling the end of the record. So the two parted, making sure only one pair of hands joined them together and gave a united bow to the crowd. 

It took a few moments for the rest of the students to realize that the show was over, once they had, the Hufflepuffs went wild. Clapping and cheering, truly interested in learning the waltz now that they’d seen what it could do. The Slytherins all chuffed and muttered, “I could do that ten times better,” but we’re secretly awed by the two. Professor Sprout was smiling and clapping along with the rest of her students, saying, “Wonderful, Marvelous, that’s how we want you to dance by the end of the lesson.” Snape kept his face a neutral mask, but couldn’t help the slight upturn of his mouth at the two. Harry, Draco, Susan, and Hannah all looked at the dance partners with smiles; Draco turned to them and said, “You know, I think I’ll collect on that bet now.”

~*~

The Yule Ball was only a week away and students were running around the castle in a desperate frenzy to try and find dates. Hermione had been asked by Victor Krum to attend the ball with him, “How could I say no? Everyone else is just dying for their chance, and he just walked right up to me!” Harry had asked Susan to the Ball just because he couldn’t think of anyone else, she was still flattered that he thought of her anyway. Draco chose to take Pansy Parkinson, partly because he was miffed that Harry didn’t ask him for help in picking a date, and partly because he’d promised her at the beginning of the year. Neville got some courage from somewhere and asked out Hannah, well, she asked him after he sputtered and stuttered for about ten minutes.

Pyxis was the only one so far that didn’t have a date. She didn’t mind; she was too busy trying to figure out how she felt after the dance practice in the Great Hall, and the fact that Blaise had yet to return her cigarettes. Every time she tried to wrap her head around the dcance about a million butterflies took the chance to flutter about in her stomach, making her squirm and blush like mad. Susan and Hannah had talked to her about it one night after they’d completed their Charms Essay, “So… when did you discover this little crush of yours?” Pyxis blushed and shouted, “Sue! I- Its- There’s no way- Oh Merlin!” The other girls laughed as she buried her face into her pillow, Hannah patted her back and said, “Aww Pixie’s got a crush on the bad boy. Isn’t that cute.” 

She scowled up at her friend, “Han he’s hardly a bad boy. He only looks dangerous, believe me, he gets his assignments done before Hermione. Besides its- It can’t be a crush, I-Its the flu! Besides, I barely know him.” Susan laid back against her bed, “Well that’s never stopped anyone before has it? I mean, didn’t Harry’s parents get married maybe a year or two after they started dating?” Pyxis turned even pinker, “This isn’t Marriage Sue! And they were seventeen, full grown adults by wizarding law! I’m fourteen and so is he!” Hannah paused for a moment and looked out the window, “Wait, what about Cedric?” Pyxis raised an eyebrow, “What about Cedric?” 

Hannah lay down next to her, picking up Pooky, Pyxis’s stuffed elephant, and tossed it in the air, “well… there’s rumors going around that he’s fixing to ask you something.” Pyxis lifted her head from the pillow, “Ask me what?” Hannah shrugged and tossed Pooky up again, “They vary. Some say its a thank you for helping out in the first task. Others say its something like asking you to be his girlfriend. The worst one is for you to Polyjuice into him so he doesn’t have to do the next task himself.” Pyxis winced at that, “Ok, I’ll help with the tasks, but there is no way in hell I’d actually do one. And why does everyone think he and I are some kind of thing? I barely see him!” 

Susan sat up, “After the first task, he wrapped his arm around you and gave a kiss. That definitely turned some heads, and ever since then people think you and Cedric are in some kind of secret relationship or something.” Pyxis rolled her eyes, “Why… Cedric’s like my older brother, same way I’m Harry and Draco’s older sister.” Hannah stopped throwing Pooky and held the toy to her chest, “I think you may want to tell Zabini that.” Pyxis frowned, “What do you mean? Why would I need to tell him, he should know.” Susan bit her lip, “I saw him after. He was pacing around near the dungeons for a long time, muttering something about Cedric, and about a week after, he kept throwing nasty glares at him.” 

Pyxis turned over and lay on her back, “Maybe I should say something to him, but I don’t know if I, if I want to act on this crush.” Hannah turned to her friend, eyes moving to the mark on her neck, “He doesn’t know does he?” Pyxis covered the mark with her hand, “No. I barely know him… and I don’t think anyone would wanna stick around once they found out the person they like is a werewolf.” The other girls were going to counter that, but there was a banging sound from the trapdoor leading to their room. Pyxis got up first and opened up the door, Neville stood at the base of the ladder, “Heya Nev. What’s up?” The boy looked out towards the bookcase and said, “There’s someone to see you Pyx, think you better come to the Barrel.” 

She raised an eyebrow, “I wasn’t expecting anybody, who is it?” Neville grinned, “Its Zabini, says he needs to talk to you.” Her eyes widen slightly and Pyxis hears her friends begin to titter behind her, “Tell him I’ll be out in a minute Nev, thanks.” He nods once before leaving. 

Pyxis turns to the girls and sees them both grinning like loons, she rolled her eyes and says, “Pass me my jumper.” Hannah tosses it to her and Pyxis pulls it over her head, “I promise this won’t take too long.” Susan just laughs, “Take as long as you need Pyx.” Pyxis flipped them the bird and made her way down the step ladder, racing for the barrel opening once she hit the ground.

She scrambled out and looked around, Blaise was off to the side, leaning against the side of the barrels that were closer to the kitchens. He smiled at her and pulled something out of his pocket, “You left these the other day, didn’t think you wanted to lose them.” She looked down at his hand to find her cigarette pack, the butterflies started up again and she blushed, “Thanks, you didn’t have to come all the way down here to give them back you know. You could’ve just given them to me tomorrow in class.” He gave a sly smirk, “Oh I know, but that pack isn’t the only reason I’m here.” 

She twirled one of her curls and the butterflies went wild, fighting to look calm, she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, “Oh?” Blaise nodded once, his face a mask of confidence, but his hands twitching ever so slightly, “Yes. In fact, I was wondering if you would be willing—”

“PYXIS!” The voice that cut off Blaise came from the other end of the hall, both of them turning to find a flustered Cedric running towards them. When he reached them, he gripped Pyxis’s shoulders and said, “Pyxis I need your help!” She glanced over at Blaise and gave an apologetic smile, he waved her off, trying to look like he wasn’t bothered.

She wasn’t fooled. “What’s up Cedric?” The older Hufflepuff looked over his shoulder in a panic and he said, “Pyxis promise me that in the next two minutes you will say yes to whatever I ask you.” She raised her eyebrows, “Cedric I don’t know—” “Cedric?” 

Another voice floated down the hallway, a girl’s voice, Cedric’s grip on Pyxis’s shoulders tightened, “Please Pixie. I’ll owe you big time, I promise.” Pyxis was going to object when Blaise said, “A favor from one of the Hogwarts Champions, I wouldn’t turn this down if I were you Pyxis.” She turned to Blaise, he looked interested in what was going on, amused even, she turned to Cedric, “You promise to explain after this is all over?” The older boy nodded, “I promise, a thousand times I promise.”

Pyxis sighed and nodded, “Alright.” Cedric relaxed considerably and let go of one of her shoulders, using the other arm to wrap around her casually. “Cedric? Oh there you are?” A Ravenclaw appeared from around the corner and approached them, her eyes widening when she saw Cedric with his arm around Pyxis. “Oh? Cedric who’s this?” Cedric gave a strained smile to the Ravenclaw girl, “Sorry Cho, I guess I haven’t introduced you yet. This is Pyxis, my date for the Yule Ball.” Pyxis felt her breath catch, Blaise slipped against the barrels and fell to the ground. Both of them going slightly pale.

She looked up at Cedric, hoping he would laugh and say it was a joke. His face was still holding that strained smile, eyes pleading for Pyxis to go along with it. She turned back to the Ravenclaw who was eyeing the two of them, the look on her face telling Pyxis that she doubted what Cedric said. Pyxis didn’t know this girl, she didn’t know why Cedric didn’t want to go to the ball with her, and Pyxis didn’t want to go to the ball with Cedric, but she’d promised.

With a lump in her throat Pyxis said, “Yeah. Hi, I’m Cedric’s… date.”

~*~

Its an hour before the Yule Ball and Pyxis is sitting on the edge of her bed and staring angrily at her dress. The silver color glitters prettily in the glow of the wall sconces, the deep blue sash around the waist giving it contrast and making it look like a night sky. Susan has done her curls in a sort of half-up half-down hairdo, revealing her neck and shoulders, a white crescent moon pin with a star in the center hold it up. She rests her chin in her hand and huffs out a breath of air, “I can’t believe I’m going to the Yule Ball with Cedric Diggory.” From the other side of the room Hannah looks over from where’s she’s applying some concealer, “He’s only apologized about a million times by now Pixie, surely its not that bad.” Pyxis frowns and continues to stare at the dress, “I don’t want to go to the ball with him.” 

Susan steps into her dress and flicks her wand, the zipper in the back flying up without catching on anything, “We know this, and yet here we are, prepping for the ball all the same.” Pyxis snorted and hung her head, a few loose curls falling in front of her face, “Merlin. This is going to be really awkward isn’t it?” Hannah finishes up her makeup by adding just the faintest amount of rouge to her lips and sits down next to her friend, “Maybe, but only if we let it.” Pyxis turns to her, “haven’t we already though?” Hannah shook her head, “No, we’re not downstairs yet, and we haven’t met up with the boys. So technically it has yet to be awkward.” 

Susan speaks up when Hannah’s done, “Its going to be awkward no matter what we do.” Pyxis lifts her head and chuckles, “It can’t be both.” She looks between her friends and lets her anger fade away, “Thanks for being frank Sue, and thanks for trying to cheer me up Han.” The two girls smile comfortingly at her and Hannah says, “Alright lets get you into that dress.” 

Pyxis slips it on and adjusts the one shoulder to cover the bite on her neck, she fingers the sash wrapped around her hips to make sure its wrapped tightly and clips on her earrings. When she looks in the mirror someone completely different looks back. This person is beautiful, she’s confident and alluring, her eyes are the color blue you see just before dawn, her skin is a rich tan from spending hours on the pitch, her hair a beautiful bronze color that reflects the light of the sconces. The dress sparkles against her skin, and the blue of the sash helps in making her eyes pop. Pyxis steps back, and so does the girl in the mirror, finally realizing they are one in the same.

Hannah and Susan watch their friend carefully, wondering what exactly she sees. A smile breaks out across Pyxis’s face, “I feel absolutely gorgeous.” The other two smile brightly and Pyxis turns to them, “And you two look stunning.” The three girls laugh and finish up getting ready. When they emerge from the Barrel they find Hermione completely transformed in her periwinkle gown and waiting for them, she grins and says, “Ready to go?” They nod and the four of them take a back route to the Great Hall, making use of a certain map that Remus had given Pyxis at the beginning of the year so they could emerge from the top of the staircase near the Great Hall.

When they emerged from behind the Humpbacked witch, they do a quick cleaning charm to remove any lingering dust from the tunnel and head towards the steps. Pausing at the edge they all look to one another as Hannah says, “Who’s idea was it again that walking down all these stairs in heels, was a good idea?” They all shrug and Pyxis says, “Alright, how about we link arms and walk down slowly, that way if one of us trips the others can catch them.” Hermione frowns, “Or we all could go tumbling down together.” Pyxis nods, “Or that. Either way we all go down or none of us do.” The other three debate for a bit before each holds out their arms for the other to link through. With a deep breath Susan said, “Lets go ladies,” and they take their first step down.

At the base, five boys and one couple stand waiting for the girls arrival. When the four girls were about halfway down, Blaise just happened to look up, his eyes grow wide and his jaw slackens. The others turned as well and all of them were captivated by the four girls, each of them putting on an “holier-than-thou” façade. Only to break it when Hannah stumbles a bit on the second to last step and the girls hurry to catch her. Draco and Pansy snicker a bit, but calm down once the girls have got themselves together. Both Cedric and Blaise couldn’t tear their eyes away from Pyxis, she blushes a pretty pink at their gazes and walked up to them, “You’ll catch flies if your leave your mouths open like that.” Blaise comes to his senses and his jaw clacks shut, unable to stop himself, he says, “You look beautiful.” 

Her cheeks turn even rosier and Cedric stays silent, once again realizing what his tiny bit of cowardice has interrupted. He remembers how angry Pyxis had been when they went back inside of the Hufflepuff Basement, her remembers the acid stares that Blaise had given him every day since. Reluctantly, he clears his throat and the two of them finally realize he’s standing there, “Its only a few minutes till the ball starts,” he holds out his arm, an apologetic smile on his face, “Shall we?” She hesitates for only a moment before wrapping a hand around his outstretched elbow, Blaise’s face darkens only slightly and the group makes their way to the entrance of the Great Hall.

The dance is a bit of a blur after the Champions were asked to dance with their partners. Pyxis can remember several instances of having being asked if she wanted to dance by Cedric, and several other boys; her friends wondering if she was alright and occasionally going with them to get food. She thinks she remembers Harry and Draco drinking something from a flask and then drunkenly dancing together later in the later hours of the night. But what she can remember the most, is seeing a pair of familiar brown eyes looking at her from across the hall. 

It would always be in passing, a quick glance here, a look there, always while he was busy flirting with other girls, but he always looked at her.

She should feel jealous, or hurt, maybe even angry. But every time she looked over her shoulder, or turned her gaze towards him, she only felt like she was waiting. It was around midnight when she’d grown tired of it, a restless itch making her get up from the table head out of the Great Hall towards the front of the school. 

The air is bitterly cold, there’s snow everywhere, and the night bites at Pyxis’s bare arms. She hugs herself and leans against the wall next to the door, goosebumps popping up everywhere, small snowflakes getting caught in her eyelashes. She lets out a breath and a cloud of warm air forms just past her lips. She’s still waiting, but the night is coming to an end, and she really hopes that whatever she’s waiting for, is coming soon.

The sound of footsteps comes from behind her, but she doesn’t turn around. There’s a rustle of clothing and a coat is draped over her shoulders, turning around, she expects maybe Harry or Draco, possibly Cedric. Instead she finds Blaise. 

He pulls something out from the inside of his pocket and hands it to her, “You left this the other day, I didn’t think you’d want to lose it.” She looks down to find a cigarette in his hand, one of the ones from her pack. ‘This is familiar,’ she thinks, and is immediately brought back to the moment when they stood by the barrels. 

She smiles, slow and sweet, and takes it from him, “Thanks, you know, you didn’t have to come all the way out here just to give this back. You could’ve given it to me tomorrow in class.” He gives a sly smirk and says, “That isn’t the only reason I’m here.” Her smile brightens, looking like starlight, and the butterflies in her stomach take notice, “Oh?” He doesn’t say anything more.

A hand cups her cheek and tilts her head so that she’s looking up at him. He leans in close and give a warm grin of his own, just before pressing his lips to hers. The clock strikes midnight and the bells chime out, she’s not Cinderella, so there’s no end to the spell.

The ball’s over. But their time has just begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!!Kudos and Comments Appreciated!!!  
> Come find me on tumblr:  
> bio-blegh.tumblr.com


	12. Cups and Cauldrons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm so late, and I'm so sorry, too much shit needed to get done these past couple weeks. I've written and rewritten this chapter at least a hundred times. It might be shit still, but I'm posting it anyways. Enjoy!

Everything seemed to speed up after the Yule Ball.

It became public knowledge that Pyxis and Blaise were now an item, and it made a lot of people jealous. Several girls had approached Pyxis when she was alone and pestered her about Blaise and whether or not she had him under the influence of a love potion. They’d corner her in alcoves and the girls bathrooms and point their wands at her, threatening her that if she didn’t leave Blaise alone they’d make her life hell. The first couple of times she’d just ignored them and carried on about her day, but it was getting more and more frequent. Finally one day she snapped and responded with, “Well it sounds pretty tame if it spit you back out.”

She’d come out of these encounters with a few bruises, which led to questioning glances and pestering by her friend and her Father. Which also led to her avoiding such questions and continuing her daily routines, occasionally snuggling up to Blaise in public to annoy people. Which finally led to her father giving out detentions to the people who tormented her when they botched up a lesson; to Harry and Draco using the tunnels and the map, filched from her book bag, to try and go after the people who caused the bruises.

However, by the time they found the real perpetrators, they were already in the hospital wing, courtesy of Susan, Hannah, and Neville. The first time it was because of a tripping jinx, another because of a full on fight, and the third time was because of some weird plant spore that made them sneeze nonstop. The three were never caught, but they would always have their wands at the ready in case Pyxis needed it. She would tell them to stop constantly, saying she could handle it on her own, but every now and then she’d feel grateful someone else was watching her back.

When every attack on Pyxis was met with retaliation, the girls switched tactics and tried to seduce Blaise, most of the time in front of Pyxis. They’d rub up against him, or let their hands wander, just as she would turn the corner, he’d ignore them most of the time. Always brightening up when he caught sight of her and leaving the other girls in the dust. But every once in a while, he’d be trying to shove them off, which would make them look much more scandalous, and he wouldn’t realize she was there until much later. 

On those days she’d be a lot quieter than normal. Answering questions with single words, and only speaking to her roommates and Neville; Blaise did everything he could to make it up to her. During trips to Hogsmeade he’d buy her baskets of chocolate, back at school he’d make his kisses a bit more tender than usual. And most of the time it works, she’ll smile brightly and look happy for the rest of the day. Other times it would just make it worse, she’d see the stares, the sneers, all the more clearly; she’d pull away on those days, keep her distance and sit alone under the Whomping Willow. That seemed to be the only place where no one, literally no one, would be able to hurt her. Not if the Willow had anything to say about it.

~*~

The second task came and went rather quickly. 

For Pyxis anyways, being at the bottom of the Black Lake will do that to a person.

The crowds were cheering madly, chanting loudly as they waited for their champions to resurface. Blaise watched from his seat, hands gripping the railing so hard his knuckles had turned white, Harry gave Blaise a nudge and said, “She’ll be fine. If Diggory can’t get her out, then the Professor’s will get them.” Blaise only grit his teeth and gripped the bannister tighter.

She’d vanished late last night, Professor Lupin pulling her from the Great Hall to talk to her. He hadn’t seen her since then, and when he went to ask the other Hufflepuffs if she was sleeping in, they told him that she never made it back to the dorm. It had taken a lot of bribing, and a bit of blackmail, to find out that she had been bewitched and sent to rest at the bottom of the Black Lake.

Krum swam up first and helped Hermione on the platform first before climbing up himself. The two of them were wrapped up in towels and were surrounded with several warming charms, Hermione looked up at Blaise and the others, saw the looks on their faces and went pale. Blaise turned away and grit his teeth, glaring hard at the dark water.

Fleur came up next with her sister clinging tightly to her back, the two Veela girls climbed up onto the platform dripping and shivering. All the boys nearby seemed to be transfixed by the two, all of them worrying and crooning over them even from afar. Neville, Harry, and Draco were among them, and had to be held back by Susan and Hannah to keep them from vaulting over the railing and making sure the Delacour’s weren’t manhandled. Blaise didn’t even bat an eyelash.

Twenty minutes passed, and then another ten, the tension in the air thickened, and even the professors were starting to get visibly worried. But at the last moment, Cedric and Pyxis burst up out of the water, gasping and sputtering. When the two of them were brought up onto the platform, Pyxis was coughing up lungfuls of water and Cedric could barely lift his head. Both were quickly wrapped in towels, and Madam Pomfrey was rushed over so that she could check them over.

Blaise hopped over the bannister railing and pushed through the crowd of people to get to Pyxis. As she gasped and coughed up water, he kneeled down next to her and pulled her close to his chest, “Thank Merlin.” She coughed a little more and tried to wriggle away, “Blaise, Blaise let go! Blaise I can’t breathe!” He loosened his gripand Pyxis took a deep gulp of air and then leaned back against Blaise, “When I get my hands on my Father I’m gonna-mmmph!” Blaise pressed his lips to hers and kissed her with such bruising force that she bit her lip. When he pulled away he whispered harshly, “Don’t ever do that again!” 

Slightly dazed she mutters against his chest, “I’ll send Nashi with a note next time.” 

Off to the side Cedric just smiles as he lays on the damp wooden slats, looking up at the professors he says, “I may have missed her. But not as much as he would.”

~*~  
When it was time for the Third task, Pyxis thought that she might end the year with her sanity in tact. There hadn’t been a crossing incident since before the Yule Ball, so she relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the semester. Sitting amongst the other Hufflepuffs she pulled her scarf tightly around her neck and grinned down at the champions. All of them faced the maze, one that they were told was riddled with monsters and traps that only the best could survive. At the center lay the Tri-Wizard Cup and when the champion who claimed it returned to the stands, he would be this year’s winner. 

She cheered along with the rest when Cedric disappeared along with the other Champions into the maze. Dramatic music began to play as Professor Flitwick conducted the school band, three images appeared overhead from the viewpoint of each of the champions. It was a modified version of a Legillimens that allowed the caster to display what the target was seeing. Smiling brightly, she leaned forward a bit and watched carefully as Cedric took on the Hedge Maze.

The first thing he faces is an Acromantula the size of a car. He fires stunning spells at its head and tripping jinxes at each of its legs, for a bit the creature looks like it isn’t affected, and then it begins to fall. Cedric runs under its belly to avoid the giant body about to crush him, a root trips him up and very nearly stops him from making his escape. When the dust had settled, Cedric looked fine, he dusted himself off and untangled his foot before continuing through the maze. 

 

The next thing he faced was the hedge itself. The walls started to come alive and the vines reached out to try and pull him into their leaves. He cast Incendio at first, burning the hedge away and thinking that it would be enough to beat it. But the plants grew back with a vengeance, and when he tried to run the roots pulled themselves up out of the ground and grabbed him around the ankles. He tried burning those away too, but they only came back stronger. Worried out of her mind, Pyxis gripped Neville’s arm and said, “Nev can you think of anything? There’s gotta be a way to beat the plant right?” 

Neville bit his lip and stared at the image, “I’m not sure Pyx. And its not like we can help him, it looks like Devil’s snare, but the fire should have put it off already.” Blaise put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly, “He’s a seventh year Pixie. He should be fine.” A few moments later Cedric shouted, “MORS HERBA,” and the plants died instantly, branches shriveling up into dry twigs and leaves turning into ash. He got up unharmed and then raced away. 

They all watch as he makes the final stretch through the maze. The Tri-Wizard Cup glows brightly in the late evening light, everyone is cheering and screaming for him to grab it. A flash of red comes out of nowhere and Cedric is forced to pull his hand away, Fleur emerges from another end of the maze and says, “Zat Cup is mine!” The two of them started dueling, throwing hexes and curses that leave craters in the ground and set the hedges on fire. The Cup was left unharmed thanks to a series of intricate protection spells. 

For a second Pyxis thinks she sees Cedric hesitate as he tries to get closer to the Cup. His gaze flicking between the Cup and Fleur, making him look like he feels guilty. Her hands clench into fists and her breath is caught in her chest, ‘Is- is he really going to give up the Cup?! Is he gonna give up the Tri-Wizard Cup? Because he feels bad?’ The look passes quickly and is overtaken by one of determination.

Cedric throws a body bind at Fleur and sends her crashing to the ground, after a casting a cushioning charm he reaches for the cup and vanishes away. There’s a crack in the air and light of port key being used. The crowd cheers and the Hogwarts section is going wild, Blaise reaches for Pyxis to hug her out of excitement, when he realizes she’s not there.

In the same moment that Cedric took the Port Key back to the clearing, there is another flash of light and a small popping noise as Pyxis is pulled into the other world. 

~*~

When she looks up from where she’s landed, Pyxis realizes that she’s neither in the stands at the front of the hedge maze. Somehow she’s managed to land face first in front of an old gravestone, the writing on it so faded that the words are nothing but a few indentations in the stone. Pushing herself off the ground she spits out the grave soil and peers over the crumbling stone. Just ahead a hunched figure drops something small and white into a cauldron, with a raspy voice he begins reciting an incantation.

“Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son.” He dropped an old femur into the boiling vat. Raising a knife high he says, “Flesh of the servant, willingly sacrificed, you will revive your master.” A cry of pain rips through the air as the man slices off his hand to add it to the boiling water, Pyxis ducks down to keep from sicking up. She looks up once more to find the figure approaching a statue just behind the cauldron. A person struggles against the stone grip of statue, the knife makes a reappearance and is thrust into the bound person’s arm, “Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe.” 

A pained scream rips through the air as the silver blade is run across the length of the forearm. Her eyes widen and she only just stops herself from jumping out, she’s heard that scream on a number of occasions. Its haunted her every year since her first, caused by pain, by fear, even anger once, and knowing where it comes from just makes it ten times worse.

Harry’s blood runs down the metal of the knife. The dark liquid thickening the scent of copper in the air. 

Pyxis is terrified, she doesn’t know whats going on, she doesn’t know whats happening, but she knows she needs to stop this. 

Creeping quietly along the gravestones, she makes her way closer to the two, keeping an eye on the knife in the remaining hand of the strange man. His grip is loose as he holds it over the cauldron, removing her wand from its holster she whispers, “Expelliarmus,” and the knife goes flying. The person turns her way and she hides behind the gravestone, there’s an angry hiss and she hears the one-handed man walk towards her. “Who’s out there! Show yourself!” She looks over to Harry, still trapped by the statue, he catches sight of her and his eyes widen.

Placing a finger to her lips she pleads for him to stay silent, “Crouch!” The footsteps halt, “Some servant you are, messing up the ritual just as it was getting underway! I bet my blood isn’t even useable anymore!” The man turned around and growled up at Harry, “That may be so, but I can always get more.” Pyxis was about to move to the next gravestone to get closer, trying to form some kind of plan to get her and Harry out, when her foot snapped a twig.

The man approaching Harry caught sight of her and yelled, “INCARCEROUS!” Ropes sprouted out from the tip of his wand and bound her tightly. It wound her like the coils of a snake, squeezing her to the point that she couldn’t breathe without it hurting. She makes little gasping sounds and tries to wriggle out of the binds, making them tighten even more. A dark laugh comes from the direction of the Cauldron and a cold voice says, “What do we have here?”

With a muttered spell the ground disappears from under her as she’s lifted off the ground and brought near the cauldron, “Come to save Potter here? I doubt you’ll last.” She tries to wriggle out of her binds and screams through her gag, hoping someone, anyone, might hear her. The one-handed man grins maliciously as he drops her at the foot of the statue, with a swift kick to her stomach, he ceases her screaming. Harry shouts at him to leave her alone and is given a Crucio for his trouble, “Silence! You and your friend won’t linger in this world for long.” 

She glances up at Harry out of fear, but another kick to her stomach makes her look away, she hears his pained screams tearing through the late night air. She tries to get up, wiggling her hand, she manages to grip her wand and tries to release herself with a muffled spell. With a curse, her body is lifted from the ground and slammed into a stone obelisk, her head cracking against the marble as blood begins to trickle down her curls.

The man moves to the other side of the Cauldron and flicks the blood into it. The potion inside begins to boil over, the flame raises of its own volition, the contents sizzle and hiss, red smoke filling the air. The smell of copper scent grows thicker and the heat from the cauldron makes her skin blister. With a loud CRACK the cauldron shatters, and a large burst of magic flies outwards. All of the potion turns to steam, then to something solid, and then to what is supposed to be a man.

The magic as undone her bonds, its shattered Harry’s prison, and she runs over to where he’s falling, catching him just before his head hits the ground. She slumps under his weight, and the fact that he’s taller than her is no help, wrapping one arm around her shoulders she adjusts him just a bit and grabs her wand. Pyxis points it at his bleeding arm, casting a rudimentary healing spell. Harry mutters a word of thanks and they both look up at the creature thats come from the cauldron. 

If there was no thin film of skin stretching across the creature’s body, they would have though it was skeleton. Its was so pale it was white, the bones of its wrists and ankles jutting out and forming sharp points. The the crests of its spine sticking out ever so slightly from its back, and its hands, they’re human enough until you look at the nails. Sharp and pointed, Pyxis trembles and thinks of the claws of the other werewolves she’s met in the Forbidden Forest, none so sharp as the thing in front of her.

The one-handed man drapes the creature in a black robe and it turns towards her and Harry. She shifts a bit, making sure Harry is behind her in case it decides to attack. It grins darkly at the two of them, blood red eyes glinting in the dark, pointed teeth unveiled behind bloodless lips as it says, “So this is the mighty Harry Potter. How is it, that this weak coward who hides behind a girl, is the one that destroyed me all those years ago.” 

It takes a step towards them and she backs them closer to the statue just behind them, they’re trapped like rats in a cage, but she’ll die first before she lets this thing lay a hand on Harry. It cackles at her and is handed a wand by the one-handed man, “Let us remove this little pest shall we.” The wand is raised and a spell uttered, Pyxis throws up a shoddy Protego and dives to the ground with Harry. Another spell is shot her way and they just barely manage to dodge it, Harry seems to have come back to the living and pushes her behind a new headstone.    
“Do you think you can hide from me little children?” The creature mutters something and fog seems to fill Pyxis’s mind, a voice speaks to her from nowhere, ‘Come to me,’ it says. She feels her limbs of their own volition and she lets them carry her away, ‘Show me the boy,’ her hand begins to twitch slightly. She wants to obey, it would be so easy to obey. But if she does, Harry will get hurt, so through some unknown strength she keeps her hand where it is.

With more force the voice says, ‘Show Me The Boy,’ and a slight pain starts to prick her spine, lighting up her nerves all at once. Its uncomfortable, and hurst just a tiny bit, but she doesn’t raise her hand. ‘Show Me The Boy!’ The pain gets worse, now feeling like a thousand needles poking at her, but her hand remains firmly at her side. ‘SHOW ME THE BOY!’ Fire lances up and down her body, her nerves singing, burning, flaying, bones grind, muscles twist, organs melt, and she collapses to the ground as the spasms wrack through her. It lasts for an eternity, and when its over she lays on the ground, panting, trembling, the ghost of the fire is still there. She aches horribly and she isn’t even able to scream. 

Cracking noises fill the air and the graveyard is suddenly filled with people wearing dark cloaks and silver masks. Horror fills her as they surround the creature, hailing him as his master. Memories flash behind her eyes from a similar scene from years ago. Terror, curiosity, panic, Death. That is what the masks are. She is forced to stand before them, her body like a puppet with broken strings, and then dropped down in the center.

Lying limp, she does her best to catch her breath. Letting the ache fade away to numbness, only starting when something else is thrown down next to her.

The boy looks to be petrified, his body frozen, his skin pale, and his lips so, so blue. Her heart stops when she sees he’s wearing the uniform given out to the Tri-Wizard Champions, her breath catches when she sees the crest on his chest. Bold yellow and black colors decorate his person, a broken wand gripped in a frozen hand, blank eyes stare up at her from a dead face. “Cedric?” Her voice is nothing more than a raspy whisper as she crawls closer, “Cedric?”

He doesn’t move.

“Cedric come on. Get up. Cedric this isn’t funny!” She grips his shirt to pull herself up and shakes him weakly. She smacks his face, she pinches his arm, her cries getting more and more frantic, “Cedric! Cedric! Cedric Diggory if you don’t answer me right now—” A dark laugh interrupts her and then she knows nothing but pain, a scream is wrenched from her throat and she falls on top of the body of her friend.

Her world goes black for what seems like an eternity, and she only wakes up when a warm hand taps her shoulder. Two streams of magic are locked in combat, one the color of fire, the other the color of death, at either end stood Voldemort and Harry. As the epicenter of the streams pushed towards Voldemort, shades burst from the old wand and surrounded the two dueling wizards. Along with a faded figure that took his place next to her. 

Pyxis only caught a few words over the roar of the magic, things like, “Won’t Hold… Let go… Escape… Hold him back…” The shade of Cedric flew down towards her, nodding at the robed figure at her side, and said, “Get my body back to my father, please.” She nods at him and tangles her hand in the cloth of his shirt. The magical surrounding them was reaching its peak, the Death Eaters just were forced back by the ripples. Pyxis was forced to lie completely flat.

Through some small miracle she’d kept hold of her wand, Cedric leaned in close and said, “You need to cut off You-Know-Who’s curse or it’ll hit Harry.” She lifts her hand and aims at Voldemort’s wrist, “Expelliarmus!” The piece of yew flies up, cutting off the stream of magic just as Harry removes his own, the magic shatters all around them, cracking the earth and the stones of the graveyard. Harry dives for her and Cedric, aiming his wand somewhere he says, “Accio cup!” It comes flying at them and she felt a hand close over her own, Harry catches hold of one of the handles and the three of them are pulled away.

In the middle of the Port Key, Pyxis is pulled away from the other two by her ring. There’s another brief flash of light and she is back in the stands in her own world, cheers erupting around her as Cedric stands tall in the clearing below. He looks so alive here, his face flush with blood, panting from the exertion of the challenge, sweat dripping from his forehead. But she was too shaken to take any of it it.

Trembling, she sags against the bench and pulled her knees to her chest. Pyxis takes a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to control the fear that was still running rampant through her. A hand is placed on her shoulder,“Hey, Hey Pixie?” She looked behind her and found Blaise gazing down with a worried expression, “You ok there? You look like death.” Staring at him, she realizes that no one knew she was gone, she was always there. The graveyard had never happened, she wasn’t whisked away, she had always been there.’ With a tired smile she says, “I’m fine, I think I scared myself a bit when Cedric faced off with Fleur. I thought he was going to let her win.”

Blaise laughed and gave her shoulder a squeeze, “He may be a Hufflepuff Pyx, but even I know you guys wouldn’t go that far.” It calmed her frayed nerves and she put her hand over his, but there was still something there. Something in his eyes that made him look like he was looking right through her. His hand tightened on her shoulder, and the look faded into a smile. They stood up together and made their way down with the rest of the school, joining the mob of students congratulating Cedric on his victory, giving their own round of handshakes and friendly backslaps. 

But not once. Not for a second. Did the two of them ever leave each other’s side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for Reading!!! Kudos and Comments are appreciated, GREATLY!!!  
> Come find me on Tumblr: bio-blegh.tumblr.com


	13. The Traveler of Hogsmeade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That moment when you remember Sirius used to call Harry, "Sprog" when he was younger: " I have missed out on an amazing opportunity and I regret it." Anyway, here's a new summer scene, with a bit of a crossing, and a very angry Pyxis. Enjoy!

Clad in one of her father’s enormous sweaters and pair of baggy sweats, Pyxis sits at the foot of her couch with a bowl of popcorn to her side as she watches The Sword in the Stone on the telly. She giggles tiredly at the battle between Madam Mim and Merlin, nearly tipping over her bowl of popcorn when Mim gets a cold because Merlin turned into a germ. Behind her, Sirius takes hold of her shoulders and stops the popcorn from falling over with a flick of his wand. “Easy there Pixie Dust. Kind of off-balance today aren’t you?” She nods slowly and Sirius tugs her hair, “Hey! Do you want me to finish this braid or not?” 

She rolls her eyes and says, “You’re the one who asked, s’not my fault that I was mid-yawn.” Sirius frowned and paused in his braiding, “Have you been getting those nightmares again?” Pyxis stiffened a bit and pretended to focus more on the movie, “no.” Sirius sighed and tied off the braid, “You know you can’t lie to your parents, right Pixie?” She snorted, “I get away with it more than you think.” Sirius grinned and pulled her onto his lap, “Wha! Hey! Lemme go!” Her limbs flail out as she tries to wriggle out of her Dad’s grip, “Dad lemme go! I’m fifteen for Merlin’s sake!” 

He chuckles and squeezes her around the middle, she’s so small that his arms can wrap all the way around her middle. So he takes his chance and begins to tickle her sides, “You may be fifteen, but you’re never old enough to be tickled.” “Ah! DAD! NO!” Her words start to falter as bouts of breathless laughter break through them, “DAD! STOP! NO! LET GO! STOP IT! OMIGOD! FOR THE LOVE OF— AH!” In an instant she is picked up and thrown over someone else’s shoulder, an amused voice says, “Padfoot, you know better than to assault our daughter with tickles.” Pyxis kicks out her legs and pounds against her father’s back to try and get him to let go as Sirius shrugs, “Of course I do Moony. Never assault Pixie Dust with tickles… without you.” 

She freezes for a moment before increasing her attempts at escape, “NO! LET GO! NONONONONONONONONO!!!!” But her cries of tickle induced terror are ignored, Remus flops her back down on the couch and grabs hold of her ankles with one hand and uses his other to tickle the bottoms of her feet. Sirius gets behind her and pulls her upper body onto his lap, stretching out her legs, and starts tickling her sides. She shrieks and tries to get away, but two pairs of strong hands pin her down, “No you don’t!” “You’re not going anywhere pup.” 

Remus has moved up her legs and started tickling her calves and back of her knees whilst Sirius focuses on her armpits, using the long sleeves of her sweater to tie her arms behind his back so she couldn’t escape. “NO! STOP! PLEASE! I GIVE! I GIVE! NO MORE!” Her cries, broken up by breathless laughter, makes Remus look up, “I don’t know Padfoot, do you think we should?” Sirius pretends to think before saying, “She hasn’t told the truth yet Moony, so no. I think we should keep going.” She tried to wriggle away, but the sweater arms keep her bound.

The knocker on the front door howled and both Remus and Pyxis froze, Sirius sighed and untied the sweater’s arms from his back. “Looks like the Potters are here.” Pyxis went slack agains the couch as both her parents got up to answer the door.

She lay there, panting like a race horse in an attempt to catch her breath. Her braid had come loose, copper curls frizzing slightly from the static of the couch, one arm covering her eyes, legs still twitching slightly from her over excited nerves. When she had caught her breath, she lifts up her arm to find Harry snickering above her, breathless, she says, “What?” Harry snickers a little more, “You transform into a wolf the size of a small horse when the moon turns full, survive an attack by a rival pack, beat the crap out of anyone who might hurt the people you care about, and are easily taken out by tickles?” She rolls her eyes, “I’m going to change into a better shirt, and then I will go with you and your parents to see your horrid extended family. And if you breathe one word of this to anyone-,” “I won’t I swear.” She stares at him hard.

Big green eyes riddled with innocence and sincerity stare back, “I’m holding you to that.” Getting up off the couch, she made her way up to her room and changes quickly, putting her hair up in a messy bun her Dad was famous for, not wanting to waste a second in case Harry had found a way around her threat. When she came back down, her god brother was near his parents, who were joking happily with her own. They all grinned at her, until they saw the bags under her eyes; her Aunt Lily frowned, “Pixie have you been getting enough sleep?” She waved her off, “I’m fine Auntie, I stayed up too late last night reading in the library, its nothing really.” It was only half a lie. Remus raised an eyebrow, “Oh? What were you reading?” She smirked, “Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, muggles have really weird ideas about our world. I mean, haven’t their scientists already explained that the center is, what was it? A big ball of magma or something?” 

Lily chuckled, Remus rolled his eyes, whilst James and Sirius looked intrigued, Pyxis took a step back and said, “Ok I think we should go now before the questions start.” Harry nodded and Pyxis hugged both of her parents, “I’ll see you guys later!” They pecked her head and said their goodbyes as she followed the Potters out the door, taking her Aunt’s hand she asked, “Why is it that you want me to come with you guys when you want to visit your sister? I don’t think the Dursley’s know who I am.” Lily grinned just before they apparated away, “Because it makes my sister uncomfortable.”

~*~

The four of them arrived at Number 4 Privet drive without making a scene, Lily told Harry and Pyxis to behave around Dudley as James rang the doorbell. A familiar horse-faced woman answered it and attempted a smile, making her face look like she’d smelled something that just died. Lily grinned, “Tuney! Its so good to see you!” The grimace on Petunia Dursley’s face deepened at the old nickname, “Lily, how… nice, it is to see you back again.” There was a hollering sound that came from inside the house, “Petunia! Who is it?!” The grimace turned a bit rabid as the woman turned around and called back with a sickly sweet voice, “Its my sister and her family, dearest. Come say hello and bring Duddykins too.” 

Pyxis took an unconscious step forward, moving herself in front of Harry, her god brother snickered along with her Uncle and he whispered to her, “Pyx I’m fifteen, I think I can handle my cousin on my own.” She snorted, “Maybe when the fight’s in your favor, but whenever we’re around your parents, or his, you just take it. I don’t plan on holding back.” Uncle James ruffled her hair, “Atta girl, and you’re not even in Gryffindor.” She rolled her eyes, “Don’t have to be overtly stupid to want to protect someone.” James was a bit affronted and tugged on his niece’s hair, “Hey!” Anything else he had to say was cut off by his wife’s glare and the sudden appearance of Dudley and Vernon Dursley. 

Catching sight of Harry first, Dudley sneered and cracked his knuckles, thinking that he was alone this time because Pyxis is so short. So she put on the smile her Dad taught her, the one that was meant to dazzle everyone she gave it to, and stepped forward, “Dudley! Its sooo great to see you again!” Starting a bit, Dudley looked down to find Pyxis, who was only up to his shoulders despite her having grown a full inch, smiling brightly up at him. He paled considerably and his hands trembled slightly, his words, what few he had, failing him. Petunia elbowed her son in the side and said, “Duddykins, why don’t you shake Miss Lupin’s hand?” Nodding slowly he outstretched his palm towards her, she widened her smile, showing teeth and took Dudley’s hand.“P-puh-pleasure t-to m-meh-meet you.” “Likewise.” 

When their hands parted, Harry and his father were on the verge of laughing, whilst Lily gave an approving nod. “Oh Tuney! Do you know what I think would be great?! While we adults catch up, why don’t the kids go to the park down the street, you know, the one you said Dudley likes to hang out at.” If it was possible, Dudley turned even paler, and Petunia’s face took on a strained expression, “I think thats a wonderful idea Lily,” she turned to her son, “Go on Duddykins, why don’t you show your cousin and his… friend, the park?” Pyxis felt a bolt of anger fly through her, but she stamped it down, ignorant people will be ignorant.

Dudley nodded once more and started down the walk, “F-follow me.” Pyxis skipped along behind him, with Harry following along close behind. 

~*~

The park was pretty much empty except for a few kids no older than five and their mother. The woman looked up at the approaching group of teenagers and then towards her kids, worry clouding her brow. Pyxis gave a warm smile and a small wave to the young mother, the woman relaxed at her friendliness and focused back on her own children. 

Pyxis and Harry walked around the playground a bit, while Dudley just took a seat on one of the park benches. When they were far enough away Harry said, “So you wanna tell me about how your nightmares came back, or are you still pretending that its nothing?” She scowled at the ground, “they are nothing. Dreams can’t hurt you.” He snorted, “those bags under your eyes beg to differ.” She turned her scowl on him, “So?! Its just last night, nothing to worry about, nothing to make a fuss over.” 

They were by the merry-go-round now and she took a seat, “I’m fine.” Harry took hold of one of the metal bars and started spinning it, “I wonder what Sirius and Remus will think when my parents tell them you’re fine?” Her eyes widened, “You’re parents don’t know anything.” Harry grinned, “Maybe not everything, but we’ve had Blaise over a couple times since the end of the school year, and he’s more observant about you than anyone else.” Her cheeks flushed pink and she stood up, nearly falling over because the merry-go-round was still spinning, “Don’t you dare say anything!” He grinned again, “I wasn’t. But if my parents bring it up…” 

Pyxis let out an exasperated sigh and ran her hands down her face, groaning, “Alright… I really hate you Slytherins sometimes.” Harry stopped the turnstile and sat down next to her, “So what kind of nightmares are we looking at?” She leaned against the bar and fiddled with her ring, rubbing a bit too hard and cutting herself on the edge of the broken stone. A red bead drops from her finger inside the crack, there’s a flash of bright light and she raises one arm to cover her eyes.

When the light faded, she was still in the park, but the mother and the children were leaving, Harry was on the swings, and Dudley was surrounded by a few other boys. The group made their way over to Harry, laughing and guffawing all the while. She stepped off of the merry-go-round and made her way over, listening in on the conversation as she got closer. She was too far away to hear the first part of the conversation, but when she was close enough she heard, “Not this brave at night, are you?” Harry raised an eyebrow, “I heard you. Talking in your sleep. Moaning.” Dudley’s grin turned feral when he saw the look on Harry’s face, and Pyxis’s blood ran cold, he mimicked Harry’s voice as he said, “Don’t kill Cedric! Don’t kill Cedric! Who’s Cedric— you’re boyfriend?” 

Something cold and dark curled in Pyxis’s stomach, an icy fury aimed at the idiot who kept talking, “Dad! Help me, Dad! He’s going to kill me, Dad! Boo-hoo!” Her hands clenched into fists and she changed direction, “Come and help me, Dad! Mum, come help me! He’s killed Cedric! Dad, help me! He’s going to —” CRACK! 

Her fist slammed into Dudley’s cheekbone and he fell to the ground, rounding on the other boys in Dudley’s gang she growled out, “Anyone else got something stupid to say?!” The group took a step back, but Dudley wasn’t done yet, cradling his cheek he said, “Who the bloody hell are you?” She turned to him and bared her teeth, “Someone you don’t want to mess with.” Dudley snorted and lowered his hand, “Aww, is Potter so weak he has to hide behind his little girlfriend.” Her fists clenched tighter, “You got a lucky shot ya bitch, but you won’t get me again—” CRACK! This time her punch landed square on Dudley’s nose, breaking it. Blood poured out from his nostrils, and he howled in pain. “Just give me an excuse Dudley, Come On!” Two firm hands gripped her shoulders and pulled her back, “Pyxis Stop! He isn’t worth it!” 

She lowered her hands, one covered in a bit of blood, but didn’t move from where she stood, “Make fun of Harry, or Cedric, or his parents ever again and I’ll make you regret it Dudley Dursley. I know where you live.” The bleeding boy looked doubtful, but you couldn’t really tell with how he was holding his nose, so she smirked and said, “Number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, Great Britain.” Dudley paled at that and ran off with his goons chasing after him. “Arses, the lot of them.” Harry chuckled behind her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, “yes, well I don’t think they’ll be mucking me about anymore, but you do know I can handle some things on my own.” She looked over, “No I don’t, because every time I see you you’re getting you’re arse handed to you because you’re an oblivious git.” He pulled playfully on her bun, “I’m not that oblivious,” she snorted, “I beg to differ.”

The two of them laughed and started walking, “You’re not freaked out that I’ve randomly appeared again?” He shrugs, “Honestly, your random appearances are the most normal things that have ever happened to me.” She frowned, “How is this normal?” He stopped and raised an eyebrow, “I don’t know. Is nearly getting killed at least once a year supposed to be more normal than this?” She rolled her eyes, “Guess not.”

They continued in silence for a bit before Pyxis asked, “Where you headed Harry?” “Home.” “Which is?” He raised an eyebrow as he looked down at her, “Well you said you knew where Dudley lived, its the same place really.” She stopped, “You live with the Dursley’s?” “Yeah.” “Dumbledore is dead to me.” He laughed at that, “Hey they’re my only family. You can’t blame him for wanting me to be with them.” Her eyes widened at that and she stopped walking, “Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, your Grandparents for fucks sake, I’m sure Fleamont and Euphemia would’ve been happy to take you in.” He looked at her funny, “Ok, Sirius was in Azkaban, Remus is a werewolf, and my grandparents are gone Pyxis.” She blinked and looked back at the sidewalk in front of them, “This world is all kinds of weird.” He snorted and places a hand on her shoulder, “it really is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for Reading!!! Kudos and Comments appreciated!!  
> Come find me on tumblr: bio-blegh.tumblr.com


	14. Hallows and Harbingers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Update Time! Taking a bit of a break from studying to post this, then right back to it. Glimpse into some reasoning on why Pixie has the Resurrection stone, and then introducing the DA!!!!!

As Pyxis walks along the hill near the Whomping Willow, she notices Hagrid sitting at the front of his hut, two large knitting needles in his hands and a faint clinking sound that lets her know that he’s working. Raising a hand she shouts, “Hiya Hagrid!” Hagrid looks up and she can see his smile even this far away, “ ‘lo Pixie!” He gives her a little wave and then returns to his knitting, she grins and continues on her walk.

The Willow senses her approach and lowers its branches threateningly, just daring her to try and come close to its trunk. She snorts and picks up a nearby stone, tossing it in the air once while she looks for her target and then throwing it as hard as she can at the knot at the tree’s center. The Willow goes still and the branches raise up as she walks towards the base of the trunk. Normally she would walk into the hole just beneath the tree and make her way to the Shack, spend some time wandering around the other end of the forest and just getting lost. But today she’s decided to do something different.

Walking around the base a bit, she finds a group of roots that form a little alcove beneath the tree. Crawling under it, she clears away any cobwebs and dead leaves with a quick spell and casts a simple Lumos. The Willow woke up and realized she was hiding under its roots, it groaned angrily, but didn’t do anything to try and get her out, trying anything would only mean hurting itself. Snickering a little she said, “I win this round.” The Willow groans again and whacks her with one of its smaller roots, “Ow! Ok I’ll behave.” The Willow groans haughtily and just goes back to being a tree. Pyxis huffs and reaches into her bag to pull out an old copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, she flips it open to the story at the very back of the book and begins to read.

‘In an age gone by there was a river that had claimed the lives of many traveling folk. Because of this Death chose to haunt this site regularly so that he could reclaim all the wayward souls that were lost.’

‘Three brothers came across the river and made ready to cross, they had heard of its deceptive currents and knew better than to wade through its waters. They were learned in the ways of magic and formed a bridge out of the stones and roots from the sides river, crossing safely. Death, feeling slighted, was angry that he was cheated out of three more souls and hatched a plan. He met them at the center of their bridge and pretended to congratulate them on besting him, offering a reward in return for the prowess of their magic.’

‘The oldest was a combative man, he asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence: a wand that must always win duels for its owner, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death!’

‘Death complied and approached a nearby elder tree, plucking a thin twig from its branches, he used his magic to transfigured it and gave it to the eldest brother, ‘This wand shall do all you ask for and more. Use it wisely.’ Feeling prideful the eldest crossed and awaited his brothers on the other side.’

‘The middle brother was an arrogant man who wished to humiliate Death further, he asked for a means to recall others from Death. Thinking he’d cheat Death of more souls as he called them back to commune with the living.’

‘Death reached for the river below and plucked an ordinary stone from its bed. Using his magic once more, he handed the stone to the middle brother, ‘Turn this stone thrice in your palm and you shall see those you have lost. Beware whom you call.’ The middle brother felt satisfied and joined the elder on the other side.’

‘The final, and youngest, brother was more cautious, and thus wiser, than his previous brothers. Sensing Death’s trap he asked for something that would allow him to hide from Death until he felt the time was right for him to go.’

‘Death sneered and removed a large scrap of his own robes to hand to the youngest brother, ‘This Cloak shall shield you from any harm that may come your way. Use it if you must.’ The youngest thanked Death and made to cross the bridge, only to realize that his older siblings had gone on without him.’

‘There came a time in the three brother’s journey that they parted ways, with quick goodbyes all three separated to find their fortunes.’

‘The oldest came upon a town where another wizard had mocked him not a week after he had left his siblings behind. Confronting the other wizard he challenged the man to a duel, and true to Death’s word, the eldest brother’s wand never failed. When the duel ended the eldest brother was victorious and his opponent lay dead at his feet; he made to celebrate and approached the nearest pub in the small town. After having drunk himself into a stupor, the eldest was in a deep sleep when another wizard stole his wand from its place by his bedside. For good measure, the thief slit the eldest brother’s throat so that he wouldn’t be able to to come after him.’

‘Thus Death claimed the eldest brother for his own.’

‘The middle brother made his journey home and arrived at his lonely hovel only a month after he had bid his brothers farewell. Removing the stone from his pocket he turns it thrice in his hand, a vision of the woman whom he had meant to marry appeared before him. Both vision and man cried tears of joy at their reunion and the two attempted to embrace, knowing now they couldn’t be separated even in Death. But the vision was not real, she was smoke and cold air, a ghost conjured by the wills of the lost lover. The two wailed away at their horrid fate, forced to love one another, to be with another, but never to truly be with one another. Another month of this interaction drove the middle brother into a deep depression, making him take his own life so that he could finally be with the woman he loved.’

‘Thus Death claimed the middle brother for his own.’ 

‘But no matter what Death did, he could not find the youngest. Everywhere that Death turned the youngest was just out of sight, hidden by the cloak Death had given him. It was only when the youngest had reached a great age did he remove the cloak, handing it to his son to use, he greeted Death like an old friend and the two walked off into oblivion as equals.’

Pyxis smiled as she flipped the last page, the story had to be her favorite out of all the tales, no matter how morbid it might be. As she made to close the book, her finger ran along the edge of the final page and she realized that it was thicker than the rest. Rubbing the bit of parchment between her fingers, she managed to separate the one page into two and peeled the extra page away from the first. 

The writing on this page seemed fresher than the rest, but it was in a script so elegant that Pyxis could barely make out the words. 

‘As the years pass the Cloak was given from sire to heir, remaining in its family for generations. The siblings of the Cloak would travel from hand to hand as trophies, bribes, rewards, and treasure. Until the time of the final crossing, all of the Hallows were to remain apart from one another, never meeting, never truly being found. With this knowledge a prophecy was foretold in the age of the first crossing, one telling of three wix who come from different worlds to end the reign of darkness an elder wix has sought to bring. They shall come together, each with their own Hallows, and bring about a new age, one magical kind has not seen for Millenia.’

‘Each Hallow being given to its owner in turn. First the Stone, then the Cloak, and finally the Wand. The prophecy written thusly:—’

“Pyxis!”

Pyxis jumped and looked around, through the roots of the Willow she saw Hermione and Blaise walking towards the tree. She smiled and put the book back in her bag before climbing out. The Willow woke up and noticed her leaving, taking its chance, it threw a tree branch her way, the other two noticed and Hermione screamed, “PYXIS LOOK OUT!” Without missing a beat she runs forward a bit, jumps at least three feet up, watches as the branch barrels forward underneath her and lands just as soon as the branch is drawn back. When she was clear of the Willow’s reach she stood up and turned around to wave at the tree, “Nice try! Better luck next time!” The Willow groaned half-heartedly and shook its branches in goodbye, she turned back around and approached her friends. Hermione’s jaw had dropped out of shock, and Blaise looked like he was about to pass out from pure surprise, snickering Pyxis asked, “Did you need something?”

~*~  
The first crossing of the year is not what Pyxis expects.

Its early October and everyone is enjoying the changing of spring into fall, the leaves on the trees have changed from their usual crisp green to a mixture of reds, browns, and golden yellows. The trees bark has turned a darker color, preparing themselves for hibernation, and the small animals that can be found throughout the grounds are being seen less and less out of their holes. The air has a bite to it and sometimes in the early morning it fogs up into little white clouds before evaporating completely.

The first trip to Hogsmeade is today and Pyxis is hopping eagerly from one foot to the other. She plans on heading over to Honeydukes to buy some chocolate for her Father and then heading home to try and ride her Dad’s motorbike. With her house scarf wrapped tightly around her neck, she walked arm in arm with Blaise and her friends down the road, occasionally jumping in piles of leaves to irritate them.

To retaliate, Blaise grabbed the biggest handful of leaves her could find and dumped them all over her head. Not willing to give him the satisfaction of seeing her irritated, she plucked a golden leaf out of her hair and said, “You know what? I think fall’s a good look on me.” The others laughed while Blaise gave a defeated huff and helped her remove a few of the leaves, but leaving one and tucking it behind her ear. When she raises an eyebrow in question, he gives his most charming grin and says, “I think so too.” 

She can’t help but blush. 

They enter Honeydukes and Pyxis immediately locks onto the biggest caramel filled chocolate bar she can find. She nearly has to fight some older girls to get at it, but there’s benefits when you’re cousin and you’re god brother are some of the tallest people in the room. They get it down for her and make short jokes that she doesn’t really care about because she’s got chocolate now. Hermione walks up in line next to her, holding a bunch of maple syrup candies in the shape of leaves. Draco’s got about a dozen types of lollipops, and Harry walks up with an armful of chocolate frogs, most of which will probably escape before he gets a chance to eat them. 

Blaise takes a bit longer and comes up with a bunch of sugar quills and a strange silver package. They all head back out and sit around a bench on the side of the street, opening up their sweets and digging in to the sugary goodness. Breaking it into pieces, Pyxis handed out large pieces of chocolate to everyone, saving the smallest for herself and the rest of the bar for when she got back to Hogwarts. They thanked her and each took a bite, a chorus of satisfied hums filling the air. Blaise kisses her cheek in thanks and hands her his silver package, “Try this.” 

She raised an eyebrow, but opened the package anyways; inside was an white piece of chocolate in the shape of a snowflake. Pyxis glanced over at him again, questioning, but he only motions to the chocolate again. Cautiously, she bit off the edge of it, the piece melting the instant it touches her tongue, a feeling of cold and a bit of mint making her tastebuds sing. She feels like she’s been swept up in a cold snap, and then melted over by a warm fire, the scent of holiday spices and pine flooding her senses just as the melted chocolate slides down her throat. 

When the taste has left, and the last bit of chocolate swallowed, she turnes to Blaise with wide eyes, “What did you just feed me?! That was amazing!!” Blaise smiles and says, “Its seasonal chocolate, its supposed give you a taste for the season, that one’s Christmas flavored and won’t be out to the public for another month.” She kisses him enthusiastically and takes another bite, sighing contentedly as the feeling washes over her once again.

Remus walks up to the little group, having just missed the exchange between his daughter and Blaise, and smiles down at them, “hello everyone.” Pyxis just waves up at her father, too content with her chocolate to do much else while the others return the greeting. He raises an eyebrow at her and steals a piece off the uneaten side, she squeaks indignantly to try and convince her father to give it back, but Remus already popped the piece into his mouth so she just pouts. The same reactions that Pyxis had go through Remus and he raises his eyebrows, “That’s some good chocolate.” She huffs, “Its mine.” Remus just chuckles and hangs back, “Pyxis can I ask you a favor?”

She looks up, “I need to pick up something at the Hogs Head for your Dad, but Professor McGonagall needs me to check up on some lesson plans with her, would you mind?” She puts the rest of her chocolate away and nods, “I’ll go, what am I getting?” “And what are you getting out of it?” She rolls her eyes and turns back to her friends, Blaise, Draco, and Harry all have their eyebrows raised, “A favor from a professor is a hard thing to come by Pixie. You gotta make the best of it.” She glances to her father and back to them, silently pleading for Hermione to say something against it, but even she’s interested in getting a favor from a professor, just not in the same way as the boys.

She sighs and looks back to her dad and says in the driest voice she can muster, “What’s in it for me?” He smirks and says, “You get a taste of the drink.” Pyxis perks up at that and says, “I’ll do it!” The others groan behind her and go back to their snacks, her father ruffles her curls and says, “Thanks pup.”

When she walks into the Hog’s Head Aberforth just looks up from behind the bar, sets down the glass he was cleaning and hands her the key, “First door on your right. I had to hide it upstairs because the other customers kept trying to bribe me for it. Your father already paid.” She smiles and thanks him before heading up. The key clinks agains her ring and the familiar flash of light blinds her for a bit halfway up the stairwell.

With the bright spots in her vision gone, Pyxis realizes that its colder, darker, than when she originally walked up. She reaches the top and looks out a nearby window, snow is thick on the ground and icicles dangle off of the roof above. “Winter’s come early here.” 

Tossing the key back and forth in her hand she approached the first door on the right and gave the knob a twist. When it didn’t open she shrugged and put the key in the lock, a small sound came from the other side of the door making her pause. There was more shuffling and a sound that was a lot like a “shh!” Unholstering her wand, Pyxis turned the knob, a jelly legs jinx and a body bind on the tip of her tongue. 

There was a loud creak and the door swung open, about a dozen Hogwarts students stood at the opposite side of the room, wands drawn and eyes wary. Their ages ranging from a second year all the way to the seventh, and all of them from different houses. The majority being from Gryffindor, a few from Hufflepuff, a couple of Ravenclaws, and three Slytherins that she could see. Pyxis re-holstered her wand and raised her hands in surrender, “I’m not gonna hurt anybody, I just need to get something from Aberforth, he told me it was in here.” No one lowered their wands and she wondered if she’d have to fight just to escape, when a familiar voice told the others to put their wands away. 

“Relax everyone, she’s harmless. At least until you threaten me or Harry, if that happens, run.” Pyxis looked to the left to find Draco smirking and leaning against the wall, “Its true isn’t it?” She gave a small smile and rolled her eyes, “Well if the scars are anything to be proud about.” Someone took a step to her right and said, “No one said you had to fight off Remus.” She looked again and found Hermione fiddling with her wand nervously, “Yes well, clearly three third years just emerging from underneath the Whomping Willow with an unconscious professor in tow, while also holding a RAT,” she said the word with as much venom as she could, “as hostage. Are perfectly capable of taking on a werewolf who hasn’t had the Wolfsbane potion.” 

“And you were?” Harry stepped out from behind the group of other students, walking up to the middle of the room and crossing his arms. He looked serious, but there was a playful light in his eyes, “I got him away from you didn’t I?” Harry grinned and nodded, when he uncrossed Pyxis noticed his hand was wrapped in gauze. Pyxis raised an eyebrow and walked forward, “What happened?” The other students raised their wands again but she ignored them as Harry said, “Its nothing.” Alarm bells went off in her head and she grabbed his wrist, gripping it tightly so he couldn’t pull away, and unwrapped his hand.

Bright red cuts shown out against his tanned skin, they were deep and just barely scabbing over, each line helping to spell out the words, “I must not tell lies,” the faintest scent of Dark magic floating up from them. That same icy fury that she had felt this past summer reared its ugly head and she looked up at Harry, grinding her teeth as she said, “Who did this.”

Harry pulled his hand away and covered it, “No one you can hurt. At least without getting the same consequences.” A growl was ripped from her throat involuntarily and she said, “Why Not.” “She’s a professor, and you disappear enough as it is.” The fury melted and she gave a tired sigh, “Why did you get it in the first place?” He shuffled a bit and she took his hand so she could re-wrap it, “She doesn’t believe Voldemort’s back.” Pyxis tenses, the night of Cedric’s death flooding back to her mind, a phantom pain racketing through her body. The fear, the blood red eyes, the intense pain, she didn’t even know she was falling until Harry catches her.

Her body shakes and Harry’s trying to talk to her, but all of his words are garbled, like she’s underwater. She tries to make sense of what’s happening to her, a distant part of her brain telling her that she’s having a panic attack. She tries to remember the exercises her parents taught her, deep breaths, figure out the trigger, focus on what’s happening around her, not in her head. But it doesn’t stop and dam holding back the rest of her memories breaks. Eyes squeezing shut and hands covering her ears she lets it take her.

A port key, a graveyard, being immobilized, a knife, Harry’s arm, an incantation, a hand, a cauldron, blood, CRUCIO, magic, Imperius, running, fighting, Death, ghosts, fear, crossing, “Pyxis,” scars, pain, so much pain, “Pyxis.” He’s here, he’s back, he’ll kill everyone, war, Death, so much fucking blood, Harry’s hurt, Harry’s fighting, you did nothing, you couldn’t help him, you were useless, “PYXIS!” 

The shout snapped her out of it and she looks up, Harry’s worried look bringing her back to where she was. She pulls out of the embrace and stepped back on wobbly legs, “Sorry. Sorry.” The other students in the room begin whispering, some looking worried, others wide eyed at her reaction. Harry reaches for her again and she takes another step back, “I’m fine. Really I’m fine. It… it just happens sometimes,” eager to change the topic she asks, “wha— what are you all doing in here?” Harry frowns and Hermione starts to say something along the lines of, “We can do this later, Pyxis you need—” “I’m already getting help!” Hermione still looked worried, so Pyxis straightened out and said, “trust me I am. But what’s more important is why you guys are all hiding in a spare room of the Hog’s Head.” They looked at her doubtfully, but a silent conversation between Harry and Draco cut off anymore questions. Hermione took her cue and said, “We’re making an Army, not necessarily a real one, but a group that’ll learn proper DADA spells. So that we’re ready for our O.W.L’s and can fight back against Voldemort and his followers if need be.”

“So that way what happened to Cedric will never happen again.” The hand on her shoulder startled her, but the accompanying scent of Draco calmed her. Relaxing at his touch, she looked to the others, all of them just piecing the puzzle together. A Gryffindor stepped up, a twin by the looks of it, and he asked, “You were there weren’t you?” Her fingers dig into her palms, anchoring her so she doesn’t have another panic attack, “Yes. I was there. I watched it all happen.” An awed hush filled the room and the students looked between her and Harry, the red head spoke again and asked, “Why didn’t you help more?” Pyxis flinched at that and pulled away from Draco, she dug her nails deeper into her hands, drawing blood. Harry spoke up, “She did, she helped me get Cedric back to the school. She tried to stop Crouch from attacking me, and fought off the Imperius curse when it was forcing her to reveal where I was. She was Crucioed for at least a minute for Godric’s sake! But she got us out of there, she used what was left of her magic to knock Voldemort’s wand from his hand so I could grab the port key and take us all back to the school.”

Harry looked back to her with a fierce look in his eyes, “She’s saved my life, Hermione’s, and Draco’s more times than we can count. She even took on a werewolf for us back in third year, a basilisk in second. So I don’t think any of you have the right to question why she didn’t ‘help’ anymore than she has.” Pyxis just stared at Harry, slowly, a smile spread on her face and she said, “I’m signing up.” Hermione smiled and brought out a scroll and muggle pen, when Pyxis opened the parchment she silently read the names on it, they matched the amount of people in the room. At the top were the words, ‘Dumbledore’s Army’, written in Hermione’s neat script; Pyxis chuckled and clicked the pen, as she wrote she asked, “Why Dumbledore’s Army?” Harry gestured to the others in the room, “We want to be able to fight by Dumbledore’s side if it comes to it. We thought it was appropriate since it would be him leading us.” 

She stopped signing and frowned, “you shouldn’t do that.” Draco raised an eyebrow, “Why?” Finishing up her signature she handed the scroll and the pen back to Hermione, “I don’t mind that you guys want to fight, that you want to know how to defend yourselves. But being a real army is knowing for a fact that you’ll do whatever it takes to make sure your cause wins, even if its some pretty gruesome stuff. Some of the people you’ll have to fight aren’t doing it to side with Voldemort, some are Imperioused, others are terrified.” She looked over at the Slytherins, she recognized them now, Pansy Parkinson, Theodore Nott, and… Blaise Zabini; taking a deep breath she said, “You guys especially. You might be fighting your friends, your family. I don’t know how willing you’d be to do that.” 

The three looked away from her, each of them looking like they’re second guessing their choice, Pyxis turned back to Harry and the others, “Defend yourselves, teach them the concepts behind the spells, and maybe even some physical scrapping in case they’re disarmed. But under no circumstances should you be someone’s army. You should fight to protect what you love, what you believe in, not for anything else.” 

Everyone looked at one another, a firm look of determination crossing all of their faces. Harry huffed and nodded, “We’ll do it your way then. But you’re teaching them how to scrap, you’ve got the most experience anyways.” She grinned and watched as Hermione unfurled the scroll, pouting, the other girl said, “You only signed your first name.” Pyxis smirked, “That’s all you need really.”

They filed out of the room one at a time until only Pyxis, Draco, and Harry were left, before they joined them all she asked, “Have either of you seen a box of Ogden’s finest Firewhiskey? Like the really old, really golden looking stuff?” Harry raised an eyebrow, “Why would you need that?” She shrugged, “Its for my Dad, an early birthday present. That’s the main reason why I came in here.” Draco looked down at the box he was sitting on, “This what you’re looking for?” She looked at the labeling and nodded, “Thanks, I’ll see you guys downstairs alright?” The other two nodded and left the room. She cast a lightening charm on the box and started to walk through the door; there was a familiar flash of light and she had to stop before stepping down the stairs.

The air warmed and a look out the window showed the ground covered with leaves instead of snow, breathing out a large puff of air she thought, “I hope they don’t wait too long.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for Reading!!! Kudos and Comments appreciated!!!  
> Come find me on tumblr: bio-blegh.tumblr.com


	15. DA and Dolores

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yay another Update!! Omygod guys, we're already half-way through fifth year, THE END APPROACHES!!! Anyway, have some pre-christmas DA practice, and Pyxis screaming out all of the anger I have towards Umbridge after I read the books and watched the movie. I felt sooooo good after making Pyxis scare her. Enjoy!

The crossings were like clockwork after the first one.

Every other week she’d be transported from wherever she might be to the door on the seventh floor that led to the Room of Requirement. She’d enter to find a training room and several students already practicing the spells Harry had lined up for the week. Sometimes when she walked in he’d ask her to help out the other students by giving a demonstration, other times he’d quickly pair her up and tell her what spell they were practicing.

The first week were basic combat spells, stuff they were supposed to have learned at the beginning of the year. Stuff Pyxis knew pretty well by now: Protego, Immobulus, Incendio, Petrificus Totalus, Stupefy, and trip jinxes. She paired up with Draco to demonstrate, and then walked around the room to adjust wand grip and movement, correcting pronunciation when it was needed.

When Harry asked for a duel she complied, but was a bit worried that they might hurt one another. He assured her that he could take whatever she could dish out. When they began Harry launched an Immobulus, which she blocked with a Protego, she retaliated with a jelly-legs jinx and just barely dodged his Expelliarmus. She cast an Incendio at the mat at his feet to make him back up, and then cast an Stupefy to his chest. She missed with the Stupefy, but he managed to get in a Jelly-legs of his own and she almost collapsed. Throwing up Protego after Protego, she searched everywhere for an opening; it was when Harry nearly tripped that Pyxis noticed how close he was to the burned floor mat. “Wingardium Leviosa!” The mat lifted upwards, catching a bit on Harry’s foot and making him stumble even more, “Expelliarmus!” His wand went flying and she caught it, “Petrificus Totalus!” Harry froze up and she cast a Finite at her legs to end his jinx.

Resting her hands on her knees she caught her breath before releasing Harry from his bind, she grinned at him and tossed him his wand, “Never forget that even charms can help out in a rough spot.” The other students nodded and Harry patted her back, “I forgot about that, never thought charms would come in handy outside of housework.” She snickered and stood up straight, “Never underestimate magic Harry, you never know when it can come in handy.”

The others paired off and tried their own hands at dueling, some only lasting about five minutes, others going for about thirty. Pyxis helped out as many people as she could, healing minor bruises and cuts so they could keep going, especially with the second years. When the combat lesson was done, she started going over how to heal, telling the group, “Fighting’s well and good, but what happens when all of the warriors are injured and can’t get up to protect anyone.” Any grumbling that had come with the healing lesson stopped then and there.

~*~

The first time she encounters Dolores Umbridge is when she’s transported a little further away from the Room of Requirement than normal. 

Its safe to say the meeting between them did not end well.

In recent weeks she’d started taking up writing letters to Blaise before she left, leaving them behind in his book bag or robe pocket whenever he wasn’t looking. She had just finished hiding her latest one when the ring transported her to the sixth floor next to a suit of armor. She was so startled by the sudden crossing that she knocked into the suit, making it stumble off its post a bit before it straightened itself out. “Sorry! Sorry, didn’t see you there.” The armor only nodded and went back to its post, looking straight ahead and standing at attention. Pyxis stepped around it to try and figure out how far away she was from the seventh floor when a, “hem hem,” sound made her turn around.

A toad like woman clad in the brightest pink robes she had ever seen walked up to her and said, “Pardon me, but it looks like you’ve gotten yourself a bit lost.” Pyxis is a bit taken aback by the bright color of the woman’s robes, but what throws her the most is the fact her instincts screaming that this woman is dangerous, even though she looks like a very pink cupcake. Her hackles raise just the slightest bit as Pyxis says, “yeah, I think I wandered a bit far, can you tell me how to get to the library from here?” The toady woman gives a thin lipped smile and says, “Oh my dear, a fifth year and you still don’t know your way around the school? Tut tut, that won’t do. Here, I’ll escort you myself.” 

Pyxis was a bit hesitant, she didn’t know this woman, and was questioning her presence in Hogwarts. But if she didn’t follow her now, it might lead the woman to where the DA meetings were. So Pyxis nodded and followed shortly behind the pink robed witch.

They walked for a bit, the woman asking occasionally about how her grades were, if she liked how the school was, and other random nonsense. Pyxis soon realized that the woman was trying to distract her, to make sure Pyxis didn’t notice that they weren’t walking anywhere near the library. Instead the woman was leading her towards the office for the Professor of the DADA; when they arrived the woman made a sweeping motion, beckoning Pyxis to come inside. Pyxis paused, eyeing the smaller woman warily and saying, “This isn’t the library.” The pink robed witch gave another thin lipped smile and said, “Oh I know my dear, however, I believe you’ll find what you’re looking for in here.”

There was no real escape, and Pyxis couldn’t do anything that might not give the witch reasons to follow her. Taking a breath Pyxis walked inside and waited until she heard the click of the door as it was shut behind her. The woman’s strange smile hadn’t left her face as she motioned to a chair in front of the desk and said, “Take a seat my dear.” Her instincts screaming at her to remain standing Pyxis replied, “I… I’d like to stay standing if its alright Ma’am. I’ve got a bad back…” It was only half a lie. The woman looked at her, smile turning strained, “Well standing won’t do any good for you, please I insist.” 

Pyxis glanced at the chair, it was plush, and that absurd color of pink that adorned the woman’s robes and the rest of the room. “a-alright.” Pyxis sat down, keeping herself at the edge of the seat, ready to run in case she needed to, “Have I done something Professor,” she glanced at the nameplate on the woman’s desk, “Umbridge?” The woman shook her head and poured herself a cup of tea, pink like the rest of the ghastly room, “Oh no dearie, at least, not to my notice. Would you care for some tea?” Pyxis shook her head, “No thank you Professor.”

Umbridge nodded once and began to add sugar to her own cup, ‘was everything bloody pink with this woman?!’ Taking a seat behind her desk, Umbridge lifted her cup, took a dainty sip, and said, “You see my dear, I’ve been finding more and more students becoming lost in this school.” Pyxis folded her hands in her lap to keep from fidgeting, “How do you mean?” The woman cocked her head to the side, behind her a fluffy white cat on a decorative plate hissed at Pyxis, “Well you see my dear. I’m afraid that there’s an organization here at Hogwarts.” Pyxis’s hands clenched, “Organization? Do you mean the quidditch teams? Perhaps the gobstones club?” Umbridge bristled slightly, “No my dear, I mean… an organization that is not permitted at Hogwarts.”

Pyxis’s pocket started to turn hot, the DA coin that Hermione had given her warming with a new message. “I don’t understand.” Umbridge set the cup of tea on its plate and got up, “Now my dear girl, it would do well for you not to tell lies.”

Pyxis froze. Her entire body tensing at the familiar words.

“I must not tell lies.” Umbridge’s eyes narrow just the slightest bit, “What was that?” 

Pyxis didn’t even know she’d spoken. Icy fury was washing over her, fueling a fire in her veins, making her want to snap and bite at anything nearby. Reigning it in somewhat, Pyxis focused on her sense of smell and took a deep breath; the smell of sugar, fabric softener, and cats, filled her nose, but underneath it all, there was something else. It was so faint she could barely detect it, but it was there, and it made her blood boil. 

Dark magic wafted up from a group of black quills resting on Umbridge’s desk, a tiny whiff of blood coming from their tips, the same scent that lingered around the scars on Harry’s hand.

Pyxis let out a dark growl, her teeth bared, she glared up at Umbridge and said, “You were the one who hurt Harry.” The woman’s smile vanished, “It isn’t polite to just make accusations like that.” Pyxis shot up, the speed at which she did throwing the chair into the wall behind her, a large crashing sound coming from where it hit. Umbridge started at that and took a step back, “Young Lady!” Pyxis couldn’t stop herself even if she wanted to, “Not Polite? NOT POLITE! YOU ASSAULTED A CHILD! A WIZARD THAT CAN’T EVEN DEFEND HIMSELF OUTSIDE OF HOGWARTS! AND YOU USED DARK MAGIC ON HIM! DARK MAGIC WHICH IS ILLEGAL UNDER THE LAW OF THE MINISTRY! AND YOU THINK ITS NOT POLITE FOR ME TO CALL YOU OUT ON YOUR BULLSHIT!!!” 

Magic started to crack all around her, the walls began to creak and the plates behind Umbridge rattled, the teapot on the desk exploded when Pyxis said, “UNDER WHAT FUCKING CIRCUMSTANCE IS A STUDENT, A FUCKING UNDERAGE WIZARD, LIABLE FOR PUNISHMENT WITH A FUCKING DARK MAGIC BLOOD QUILL!!” Everything in the room began to vibrate with the intensity of Pyxis’s magic, the wolf in her wanting to tear into this woman for even thinking of hurting her pack mate. Umbridge brought out her wand and pointed it at Pyxis, “ENOUGH! Cease this at once!” Pyxis took a step forward, Umbridge squeaked in terror and took a step back, “NO.” 

With another feral growl Pyxis reined in her magic and calmed down enough to focus on the quills on Umbridge’s desk. Walking over, she picked every single one she could find and snapped them all in half. Not even caring when the broken stalks sliced into her hands; the door to the office crashed open and Professor McGonagall along with Hermione, Harry, and Draco all came rushing in. 

When Professor McGonagall saw the state of the room she said, “What is the meaning of this!” Pyxis met her angry gaze and held up the broken pieces of quill, “Professor Umbridge has been using dark magic on the students, if you run a diagnostic on these quills you’ll find I’m not lying.” With a malicious grin Pyxis turned back Umbridge and said, “After all, its best not to tell lies, isn’t it Professor?” The pink, toady faced woman was so terrified she couldn’t respond, Hermione ran up and took away the quill pieces, “Merlin Pyxis what did you do to your hands?!” Blood dripped from the cuts and a few feathers stuck up from her palms, “I broke the quills.” 

Professor McGonagall looked at the two girls and said, “Miss Granger escort Miss… Pyxis out into the Hall. Mister Potter, Mister Malfoy, please join them and make sure no one leaves.” They nodded once and started to make for the door, before leaving Umbridge squeaked out, “werewolf…” Pyxis turned around and gave a toothy grin, “Who me?” 

When the door shut behind them Hermione spelled Pyxis’s hands clean of any splinters and started healing them. When she was done, Hermione moved out of the way so Harry could grip Pyxis’s shoulders, Pyxis looked him in the eye and said, “I didn’t hurt her. You were right about the fact that I couldn’t.” He stared at her for a bit longer before relaxing his grip, Draco spoke up and said, “I’m not sure if I should be congratulating you, or screaming at how moronic you’ve just been.”

Pyxis relaxed and leaned back against the wall, “I’m not apologizing, that felt really good.” Harry laughed tiredly, “I bet it did, but Pyxis, what if she catches you outside of class? She could do some real damage.” Pyxis snorted, “What is she gonna do? Her quills are gone, is she gonna, what was that noise she made, ‘hem hem’ at me?” “Harry’s right Pyxis, she works for the ministry, and she knows your secret now! You could be expelled—” Pyxis interrupted her, “If you haven’t ‘Mione, I’m not exactly around a lot am I?” Hermione clamped her mouth shut and tugged on her hair, “Still! What if she catches you out in the halls! In fact, why were you out in the halls in the first place?! You’re usually the first one in the—” 

The door opened and Professor McGonagall stepped out. With a steely eyed glare she silenced all four of them and beckoned for them to follow her. Not willing to get in anymore trouble, and possibly compromise the DA, they followed her without a word.

They reached her office with a tense silence hanging in the air, Pyxis quietly wondered if punishments in this world could carry over into her own. When the door shut behind them, Pyxis was comforted by the fact that not every Professor seemed to have an abhorrent obsession with the color pink. The office was warm, comforting even, a fire roaring quietly off to the side, some cat toys scattered about, and a bag of catnip sitting on the corner of McGonagall’s desk. “Have a seat Miss Pyxis.” She did and nervously tapped her fingers against the arms of the chair; Harry, Draco, and Hermione all stood against the back wall. 

“Tell me, is it true you snapped the Blood Quills you found in Professor Umbridge’s office?” Pyxis’s tapping stopped, “Yes Ma’am.” “Is it also true that you, as you have said, ‘called out’ Professor Umbridge on using said quills on students as punishment?” “Yes Ma’am.” “And did you in a an, lets say blind fury, let your magic run wild so that you shattered a number of things in her office, but did not in fact harm her?” Pyxis had no idea where this was going, “Yes Ma’am.” “Have a biscuit Miss.”

~*~

In her last crossing before winter break, the entirety of the DA were supposed to finish up learning the Patronus charm. However, no one had managed to conjure up much more than a shield.

When they entered the Room of Requirement, they found that their training room had been altered somewhat to accommodate for an enormous mirror. Everyone stopped and just ogled it, whispers of “Where did it come from?” “What is that?” Floating throughout the room. At the top of its silver frame were the words, “Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi,” a grin spread on Pyxis’s face and she walked forward. Pressing her hand against the cool glass she said, “Come to help have you?” Her reflection rippled and she stepped back to see all of it.

There she was once again, much older than she is now, maybe twenty, twenty-five. She has her arms looped around an older looking Harry and Draco, the three of them looking absolutely giddy. There are no dark shadows under her eyes, there is no scar on Harry’s forehead, but sometimes there is, and Draco is loose and relaxed. The three of them are happy, the three of them are content, just the same as when she looked into the mirror back in first year. Pyxis thinks thats all she’s going to see and starts turning back around to the rest of the group, when the reflection changes again. This time she’s standing alone, she’s grown up, looking to be in her late twenties to early thirties. She looks tired, tiny laugh lines have formed at the corners of her eyes, but she looks happy too; she turns her head and smiles, Blaise enters the frame, the same age as Pyxis’s reflection and wraps his arms around her. From the same direction two children come running, looking like a mixture between her and Blaise.

Pyxis’s eyes widen and her breath catches. The family in the mirror is laughing, Blaise picks up the young girl and spins her around. The woman carries her younger son and nuzzles him, blowing on his stomach to make him laugh. Feeling her heart swell, her grin turns into a bright smile and she steps back, making the image fade away. A hand comes to rest on her shoulder and she turns, Harry’s there and he’s smiling too, “See something you like? Because I know I just did.” She shoves him playfully and looks to her other side, Draco’s there, and he’s still transfixed by the mirror, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

She pokes him in the side, “Hey?” Draco jumps about a mile high and the blush colors the rest of his cheeks. Pyxis snickers, “You ok there?” He glares at her before saying, “Show them the mirror, ask them to cast the patronus.” Pyxis raises an eyebrow, “What happened to your eloquence Draco, I could’ve sworn Malfoy’s always know what to say.” He glared daggers at her and said, “Just do it,” before stomping off to the back of the room. 

Harry and Pyxis explained what the Mirror was and told each student to take a look before attempting the Patronus charm again. Each and every student that looked into the mirror managed to produce a corporeal Patronus by the end of the lesson. Those who had yet to test the theory, were Harry, Draco, Pyxis, and for some reason, Blaise. Pyxis nudged Harry and said, “All right Boy wonder,” he snorted, “you’re the one who supposedly mastered this in third year, show us how its done.” He rolled his eyes and pointed his wand, “Expecto Patronum!” 

A brilliant white stag burst from his wand and romped around the room, circling the whole area before coming to a rest just behind Harry. Pyxis turned to Draco, “Your turn.” He nodded once, closed his eyes to concentrate, and then shouted, “Expecto Patronum!” For a moment there was nothing but an amorphous blur, but then it took shape, and a doe performed the same romp as the stag that came before it. Draco frowned, “I thought it would be something different.” Pyxis didn’t say anything in reply, nor did Harry, the both of them too shocked by the doe to comment. 

Hermione squeezed Pyxis’s arm, “Hey, doesn’t… Doesn’t companion Patronuses mean—” Pyxis snapped out of it and said, “Mione now is most definitely not a good time to bring this up.” The other girl seemed conflicted, “But Pyxis,” “Hermione please, let them figure it out on their own.” Hermione gives in and just sighs, Draco, who has been listening in on their conversation, is blushing furiously and sending his worst death glare he could muster at the two of them. Harry… Harry’s got a funny look in his eye as he says, “Isn’t it weird how our Patronuses compliment each other?”

Blaise and Pyxis choose to cast their charms at the same time, raising their wands and thinking of what they saw in the mirror they say the incantation. From their wands burst two birds, one slightly larger than the other, but flying a similar path throughout the room. The smaller of the two flies over to where Pyxis is, its feathers shiny and smooth, she realizes with a bit of trepidation that her Patronus is a crow. Next to Blaise lands the larger bird, its beak overtly large and feathers ruffled from its short flight, with a confused look Blaise says, “Its a raven.”

Hermione’s eyes go wide and she grips her friend’s arm again, “Pyxis do you have something you want to tell me?!” Pyxis ends her charm and says in the most sarcastic voice she can, “Yes Hermione, I am in love Blaise Zabini. It is evident in the Patronuses, I couldn’t tell you for fear of hurting your feelings. I know you wanted our romance to last but I’m sorry Hermione it wasn’t meant to be. My heart belongs to this pretentious arse that I barely know, the magic has spoken.” The entire room was silent for all of five seconds before everyone burst into laughter, even Zabini cracked a grin. 

They finished up by casting the charm a few more times and bidding each other goodbye as they all left for break. Draco and Harry remained behind for a bit while Pyxis made sure to see everyone out the door, wanting to give the two of them a bit of space before she said goodbye. 

Peering in through the crack, she could see the two of them standing in front of the mirror at the back of the room. Not the Mirror of Erised, but another one where they had stuck up pictures and newspaper clippings of the Order of the Phoenix and certain wanted Death Eaters. Just above the two of them was a low hanging beam with an early sprig of mistletoe growing on it, not yet big enough to be noticed, but still large enough to have a few wayward stalks. Feeling mischievous, she points her wand and whispers, “Herba Germinabunt.” The Mistletoe grew slightly larger, making itself obvious to the two boys just underneath it, when they looked up she ended the spell and hid behind the door. There was a muffled conversation, an shocked sound, and then silence.

She smiled and gave herself a pat on the back. Calling through the crack in the door she said, “I’ll see you both after Christmas,” just as her ring whisks her away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks For Reading!! Kudos and Comments Appreciated!!  
> Come find me on tumblr: bio-blegh.tumblr.com


	16. Pack and Prophecies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, not sorry...

She was running.

Just running. 

There was nothing chasing her, there was no one she needed to find.

She just felt the need to run.

The ground beneath her feet thrummed with magic. The trees sang as the wind whistled through their leaves; the sound of the other creatures in the forest calling to her to come and hunt. A trill sounded through the air and the Wolf looked up, a white bird dove in and out between the lower branches of the pines, its voice crying out, “Do you really think you can outrace a Kite, Pixie?” She gives a wolfish grin and barks out, “Do you really think you can outrace a Dire Wolf?” 

With a loud yip she digs her paws deeper into the earth, pushing her muscles and stamina to their limit as she races the Kite through the Forbidden Forest. 

Jumping over a fallen tree, she hears the sounds of other feet come from her left side. A white Leopard streaks out from a bush and lets out a loud yowl, Pyxis just manages to avoid it and continues through her trek. “Damn it!” She let out another yip and slowed down a bit to let the Leopard catch up. When it pounced onto a nearby rock she picked up speed again and said, “You should know better than to think I’d ever be caught off guard in here.” The Leopard growls as it races along side her, “Wasn’t trying to surprise you, I was trying to catch you.” 

Pyxis shook her head and rounded a corner, “Bitty Kitty trying to catch the Big Bad Wolf huh?” The Leopard growled out and focused on keeping up with her, its fluffy padded paws pounding against the dirt and roots it jumps on. To the right of Pyxis emerges a stag, romping over everything and anything, looking like it was gliding on air, she barked at it and the Stag said, “I’m not scared of you!” She lets a growl rumble deep in her throat and the Stag lets out an involuntary bellow of fear, “you did that on purpose!” She gave a toothy grin and picked up speed.

Harry, Draco, Hermione, and Blaise had been secretly becoming animagi just this past year. It took them a couple months to learn how to move in their new bodies, even longer to understand that they could control the instincts of the animal that came with their new forms. This was their first run together with Pyxis, and as the full moon arced high through the night sky, the five of them raced through the tangle of underbrush that made up Forbidden Forest’s floor. 

They reached a clearing and halted in their run, tongues lolling, panting hard as they tried to cool down and catch their breath. Hermione, the Kite, landed on a nearby branch and trilled, “Where’s Blaise?” Pyxis lays down on the ground, resting her head on her paws she says, “Give him a minute.” There’s a rustling noise from the other side of the clearing and a black fox slinks out from under the bushes. It trots over to where the others are resting and says, “Where did you guys go? I lost you for a while there.” Pyxis huffs out a breath, “You mean you got lost to the forest for a while.” Draco, the Leopard, stretches out next to them, “Didn’t you tell us to not listen too closely to the forest when it sounds like its singing?” 

Pyxis’s ears twitched slightly, “Yes I did, but you Slytherins aren’t always very good at listening.” Blaise pads over to where she’s resting and licks her nose, “I listen, just not to everything you say.” She’s tempted to snap at him, but a howl breaks through the silence of the night and she raises her head, “That’s my father.” Harry nudges her with his antlers, “Why can’t we race alongside your parents again, it’d be an even better race if they were here.” She gets up and shakes out her coat, “It would be, and I’m pretty sure we could all run once summer comes around, but my father’s a professor, and he has a duty to report things. So imagine what would happen if during the school year, he met four students that were unregistered animagi.”

Draco curls up against her left side, ignoring her statement by asking, “Are you gonna head over?” She shakes her head, “Nah they’re just saying to be back before dawn.” Hermione flew down from her perch and landed on Pyxis’s back, “So what’s the plan now?” Pyxis lifted her head up and looked to the sky, the moon was just beginning its descent towards the horizon and the trees continued to whisper and wave in the cold night air. Standing up she said, “We could say hello to the Centaurs,” the others voiced their discomfort, “alright, alright, don’t screech my ears off. How about another race, first one to run around the Black Lake and reach the Shack before dawn wins.” 

Harry gave a bellow, “But we’re at least five miles away from the lake, and the lake itself is two miles from the Shack!” She rolled her shoulders and gave a wolfish grin, “Then I suggest you start prancing bambi.” Harry snorted indignantly and Pyxis took off into the woods, Blaise and Hermione right on her heels.

Their race began just like before, each of them pounding the dirt, rushing against the biting wind, flying over the ground with the song of the Forest ringing in their ears. The smooth waters of the lake rippled when their feet splashed at its edges, the Giant Squid breached the surface and raced alongside the five before disappearing beneath the waters once more. The mermaids leaped through the open air like dolphins and cheered for each beast; some for the Wolf who led the pack, for the Kite who looked out for them all, for the Leopard that helped in guiding them, for the Stag that used its mighty antlers to move objects out of the way, for the Fox that was constantly at the Wolf’s heels in case she needed him.

They reached the Shack just as the sun began to peek over the tops of the trees. Pyxis opened the door and turned to the others, “you should head back to the school, Madam Pomfrey is getting suspicious with all the extra hair lying around my room. I’ll see you all in a few hours.” They bid her goodbye and the door clicked shut behind her. 

~*~

In early June, Pyxis was in another race, but for an entirely different reason.

As she flew through the halls with a frantic look stuck on her face, the DA coin in her pocket was burning, the words, ‘Umbridge, Trouble, DADA Office,’ were written in Hermione’s neat script. The ring flashed as she made her way around a random corner and Pyxis didn’t even blink as the light blinded the way before her. 

The light spots clear and she stops for a moment to get her bearings. There’s a shout from the upper corridor and she sees Harry and some of the DA being dragged by Filch and the Inquisitorial Squad towards the DADA office. She sees the door slam shut and a shout come from inside, someone is screeching and there’s a deadly silence that comes afterwards. Fear and worry curdle in Pyxis’s stomach and she races over, gripping the door handle with all her strength to try and fling the door open. 

Dolores Umbridge has her wand pointed at Harry, the rest of the DA pinned to the wall by the Inquisitorial Squad as the toady woman says, “The Cruciatas Curse should loosen your tongue.” Hermione spoke up, “That’s illegal!” Umbridge huffs, turns a picture frame on her desk face down, and says, “What Cornelius doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” There’s a thick smell of fear that fills the room, a slight crackle of magic snaps at the very tip of Umbridge’s wand, there’s fury and anger just brimming under the surface of that magic. Enough emotion so that when the spell is cast it will leave Harry screaming from fire and knives.

“Expelliarmus!” Umbridge’s wand goes flying towards the open doorway, a muttered knock back curse is thrown at Umbridge and she cries out as she’s blown away into the back wall. Everyone in the room turns to the doorway to find Pyxis with a deadly fire in her eyes and a steady wand hand pointed at the professor. Her jaw is set in a firm line, keeping her wand trained on Umbridge as she says, “The Inquisitorial Squad has ten seconds to get the hell out of this room and book it back to their dorms before they get worse from me.” The leader of the Inquisitorial Squad, Marcus Flint, bristles and says, “We’re not afraid of a short Hufflepuff like you!”

“Expelliarmus! Petrificus Totalus!” Within seconds Flint is on the ground in a full body bind, his wand is in Pyxis’s free hand and she tosses it though the doorway, “Five seconds.” The rest of the Squad picks up Flint and bustles out with Filch running close behind them, Umbridge is trembles against the wall. Tiny whimpers escaping her lips as she mumbles, “w-werewolf… w-werewolf…” Pyxis takes a few steps towards her and says, “Don’t. Ever. Threaten. Harry.” She jabs her wand towards Umbridge, making the older woman shriek and curl into a ball, the scent of fear coming from her thickening so much that it barely covers the smell of the older woman messing her knickers.

With a sigh Pyxis lowers her wand and turns to the others saying, “What got you caught?” Harry’s has deep shadows under his eyelids, his breath comes in sharp pants, eyes wide and wild, and lingering scent of fear coming from him. Something in his gaze melts the anger that’s been boiling in Pyxis from seeing Umbridge pointing her wand at Harry, she helps him out of the chair and turns to the other DA members, “Go home, and those who want to help go to where you learned it all.”

She leads Harry out of the room, Draco, Hermione, Neville, and Luna all run after them, while the other DA members go back to their dorms. The Slytherins catch sight of a glance Pyxis throws their way, a silent conversation passes between her and Blaise before they go their separate ways. While Pyxis goes to handle whatever’s gotten Harry in a panic, Blaise, Pansy and Theodore all run about the castle to keep any of the professors from finding out that they’ve gone. 

Harry tells her everything that she doesn’t know, the visions, the pain, the Occlumency lessons that he had with Snape. Now he tells her about the vision he just had about Sirius, how he is trapped in the Department of Mysteries, how Voldemort is killing him with his familiar because of something inside the Department. She doesn’t hesitate when she says they’ll go, doesn’t question it when Luna mentions getting there by means of Thestral. Doesn’t even waver as they enter the doors of the Ministry and she notices that its strangely empty.

They run through its halls, relying on Harry’s pain and Pyxis’s nose to guide them to the room they need to be in. 

There are shelves upon shelves of crystal orbs, the stacks reach high above them, disappearing into the dark ceiling above. The door they just came from clicks shut and slides across the floor out of sight, “What are we looking for?” Harry doesn’t answer, he just starts walking forward, glancing at the shelf numbers every once in a while. After about twenty minutes he stops at a major crossroads and glances in all four directions, even down a few of the aisles between the shelves. “He should be here. I… I saw him here, he was hurt…” He looks back at them, eyes scared, body tense, Pyxis walks up to him and places a hand on his shoulder, “Are you sure?” 

“Hey Harry?” They turn and find Neville looking at a small orb off to the left, “This one’s got your name on it.” He takes it down and hands it to Harry, once its in Harry’s hands the mist inside swirls and the face of Sybill Trelawney comes into focus. With a harsh, grating voice she says, “The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…”

“Very good Potter.” A group of people in black cloaks and silver masks surrounds them, they whip out their wands, but the Death Eaters are too quick. Hermione, Neville, Draco, and Luna are all immediately grabbed and disarmed, wands are shoved at the hollow of their throats. Pyxis and Harry stand back to back, unsure of what to do, and unable to help their friends, the Death Eater in front of Harry says,“Now be a good boy Potter and hand over the prophecy.” Harry holds the orb tighter and moves it behind his back, Pyxis looks up and sees there’s ample room to fire a spell just above the Death Eater in front of her. Draco is also n front of her and he realizes what she’s about to do, he nods and readies himself, Pyxis whispers quickly, “Harry.” “What?” “When I say run, you run. Straight for the guy in front of you, don’t stop.” He nods and Pyxis shouts, “REDUCTO!”

The spell flies high over head, shattering the topmost shelves of room and starting an avalanche using all the rest. All of the DA members that were captured are released and they run from the wall of shattering glass and magic. The Death Eaters disappear down a corner and aren’t seen as they race away from he shelves, bits of glass and wispy white smoke flying forwards. 

“Where the Bloody Hell do we go?!” Pyxis turns to Draco, “I don’t know, blasting this place was as far as I got!” “You didn’t have more of a plan!’ Luna piped up, “I think she’s done a pretty good job so far.” A door slides into view and Neville rushes forward to haul it open, just behind them, the avalanche of crystal and mist seems to speed up, now only a few feet away from them as the door opens with a loud groan. Pyxis holds the door, practically shouldering Neville through the open doorway as she shouted, “Hurry! Before we get crushed!” Everyone runs through, and Pyxis has to dive through the door and roll away as it collapses the second the avalanche reaches it.

Bits of glass and wood fly through and Pyxis covers her head with her hands, laying still on the ground to protect herself. When it seems clear, she looks up to find the others, they face a strange pair of pillars that stand in the center of the room. Getting up she steps closer, a whispering noise fills her ears and she sees some kind of veil in between the two Pillars, “What is that?” Luna looks at her, “You can hear it, can’t you?” Pyxis takes another step closer, “Yeah, I can.” 

Draco looks at her with a furrowed brow, “Hear what? Pyxis there’s nothing there, just some empty pillars.” She shakes her head, “No Draco, there’s… I don’t know… I think its some kind of—” 

A crash comes from the other side of the room and they snap out of it, the Death Eaters, masks missing and robes frayed, come rushing into from another door. Its slammed closed just before the avalanche reaches them, leaving one exit.

The leader looks up and Pyxis’s eyes widen, “Lucius Malfoy.” She’s only seen him in pictures, and even then he looked older, more wrinkles, dead eyes. But in this world, he is different.

Here, he is young, he is alive, he is angry. “You foolish children!” He brandishes his wand and aims it at the group of students, “Hand over the prophecy NOW!” Pyxis raises her own wand, prompting the others to do the same, and says “Come and get it.” Spells go flying and they all pair off, Luna with Neville, Pyxis with Hermione, Draco with Harry. The girls face off against a cackling woman and a quiet man, “CRUCIO!” Pyxis shoves Hermione out of the way before hitting the floor herself, the spell crackles as it lands behind them, the ground splintering from the force of the magic. 

Pyxis throws up shields while Hermione throws everything combative spell she knows at the mad woman, the man that acts as her second casts a wordless curse that gets by the shield. Hermione is cut along the chest by a purple light and collapses to the floor in a dead faint, “Hermione!” A spell hits the ground in front of her and Pyxis is forced back, the Madwoman cackles and says, “silly girl, did you expect the Mudblood to beat me?” Pyxis growls and says, “Don’t call her that!” Aiming a Reducto at the woman’s feet, she manages to obliterate the stone floor into a dust that covers her and Hermione long enough to get the unconscious girl to safety.

When she leads the Madwoman away from Hermione, Pyxis notices just how outmatched they are compared to the Death Eaters. Luna is bleeding from her nose and Neville is barely able to keep his shield up while he tends to her, Draco and Harry are backed into a corner near the pillars and can’t deflect the spells cast their way. In her moment of distraction, Pyxis is knocked back into the wall, her head slamming against the stone, for a moment she feels like she’s in second year again. Except she’s older now and there are no hands gripping her robes and shaking her like a dog; instead a wand is shoved in front of her face and the Madwoman says, “Any last words girly?” 

She spits in the Madwoman’s face, the Madwoman screeches,“DIE WOLF PUP SCUM!” There’s a loud bang and the woman is knocked back twenty feet, a man in garishly bright maroon robes comes into view, “Are you alright?” Pyxis blinks and says, “You’re Kingsley Shacklebolt.” The man gives her a smile and says, “I’ll take that as a yes.” He helps her up and they stand back to back, “What were you and your friends thinking girl? Storming the Ministry on your own, did you want to die?!” The man who was with the Madwoman launches a hex at Pyxis and she deflects it, “With how often I seem to get into these situations I really don’t think I can die.” Pyxis casts a body bind at the man across from her and succeeds in subduing him, she grabs his wand and tosses it to Shacklebolt.

Looking over the rest of the room she sees that Shacklebolt isn’t the only person that has randomly appeared, Mad Eye Moody, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus, Sirius, major players in the Order of the Phoenix have appeared out of nowhere. Sirius has paired up with Harry against Lucius and his second. They disarm the second quickly, but Lucius manages to knock the prophecy from Harry’s hand, making the orb fly above them all, and as it arcs Death’s voice whispers in Pyxis’s ear, “The boy knows now. No one else must get that prophecy.” She nods to no one in particular and aims her wand, “CONFRINGO!” There’s a bolt of white light and the orb shatters into a million glass pieces. 

“NO!” Pyxis turns to find the older Malfoy glaring daggers at her, “You’ll pay for that you little Bitch! Cru—” “Locomoter Mortis!” Lucius’s legs freeze up and he loses his balance, causing him to fall to the ground, “Petrificus Totalus!” His second is quickly done away with, and Pyxis sees Draco glaring over at his father, he turns to her and says, “Now we’re even.” She goes to laugh, but stops when she sees another Death Eater raise his wand behind Draco, she runs over and pushes him to the ground before saying, “Rictumsempra!” The Death Eater bursts into a fit of uncontrollable giggles and falls down, losing the grip on his wand.

Draco gets up and scowls at her, “Must you constantly save our arses?” She smirks, “Only when you can’t do it for yourself.” His scowl deepens and she actually lets out a laugh, startling a couple of the other people who are fighting. 

The fight seems to be over, and those Order members who have subdued their Death Eaters are checking the six students over for injuries. Shacklebolt has revived Hermione and is treating the cut given to her by the Madwoman’s second, Pyxis looks around to find Sirius with Harry. The two of them are smiling brightly and making their way over to the rest of them, but climbing to the top of a boulder behind them is the Madwoman from before. 

They don’t see her as she raises her wand, or as she prepare to fire a curse. All they see is Pyxis rushing at them, casting Relashio in between the two of them because she knows its whats going to get them out of the way the fastest. As they dive to the side she runs between them and points her wand, “EXPULSO!” The Madwoman is thrown into the back wall so hard that there’s a sharp CRACK as the back of her head slams into the stone wall. As she slumps to the ground a faint trail of blood follows after her. There’s a heavy silence that comes after and with shaking hands Pyxis lowers her wand and whispers, “No one hurts my family. No one.” 

“Bloody Fucking Hell.” Neville’s voice startles her into remembering there are others besides herself in the room.

Pyxis turns around to find Sirius and Harry staring at her wide eyed, the other students and Order members are frozen in shock. She relaxes a bit and steadies her hands, “What? Just because I’m a Hufflepuff I can’t hurt people?” There’s a moment of silence before a laugh comes from over where Neville and Luna are, Remus is clutching his stomach and laughing as hard as he can. In between bouts he says, “Why… Why of all things… especially after you… why would you focus on that?” 

She blinks once and crosses her arms, an embarrassed blush beginning to color her face, “That wasn’t what you guys weren’t focusing on?” Remus just keeps laughing and she relaxes, smiling back at them. Turning her back, she re-holsters her wand and covers her hand with her face, just happy that it was over.

But it wasn’t over. 

And she should’ve never lowered her guard.

A shout went up behind her, “SECTUMSEMPRA!” 

Fire burned its way up and down her left side. The pain of a thousand knives slicing through flesh, muscle, and bone was digging deeply into every fiber of her side. Her scream could’ve shattered glass into a fine powder, her body began to concave inwards, her blood filling every slice from the spell. She fell to the ground, her head cracking against the stone, the pain of the curse so intense that she didn’t feel anything but a slight tingle along the right side of her head. Blood seeped into her lungs and her breath came out in short, wet gasps, her hands scrabbling at the stone as her body began to give out.

Someone yelled her name, and green eyes came into view for just an instant before disappearing again, a slight tugging sensation on her finger as the eyes vanished. Her head is beginning to swim, her stomach roiling and her vision going a bit blurry. Something wet and sticky was dripping onto the stone beneath her, coating her clothes and hands in a warm red color. There were more shouts and the sound of moving feet. Two pairs of eyes, one the color of spring grass and the other the color of storm clouds, looked down at her with fear. “Was that the spell I think it was?” “I think so, how did he even know it?” They looks so much like her parents, “D… Da… F… Fath…” The green eyed man shakes his hard, “That doesn’t matter, Padfoot I need you hold her down while I start healing. If she isn’t still the wound could get worse.” The grey eyed man nodded and a pair of firm hands gripped her shoulders, a rough voice whispering, “you’ll be alright. Don’t worry Moony here is the best healer we’ve got.” 

Something was being traced up her side, within the first few minutes of the spell the pain had vanished, being replaced with a cool numbing sensation. Her ribs realigned and her organs began stitching themselves back together, her vision grew less cloudy, and she could hear something like a song being uttered by the man that smelled of her Father. Her breath began to return in a rush, and the cold feeling ebbed away to a soothing warmth. 

Just behind her, the pillars seemed to grow more solid, more door-like, and the veil between them shimmered, the robed figure standing just behind it. Thinking it was time to go, she closed her eyes and let her mind drown in the depths of unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for Reading!! Kudos and Comments Appreciated!!!  
> Come find me on tumblr: bio-blegh.tumblr.com
> 
> And yes the Madwoman is Bellatrix Lestrange


	17. All's Well That Ends Well

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So its finals week for me, and I just finished the worst test, so if this chapter is utter crap, I apologize now. Summer time between fifth and sixth year has finally arrived, and we find out just what happened after out dear Pixie passed out.

The sheets scratch against her bare skin, a cool breeze making them flutter and ripple like water on the Black Lake. “Why isn’t she waking up?” “She’s lost a lot of blood Harry, you should be glad she’s even alive.” “She did it again.” There’s a bit of a pause,“Draco what are you talking about?” “Every year… Every year when we need her she’s there. She’s fighting to help us, and she always ends up getting hurt.” There was a heavy silence, “How do you mean Draco?” “I think Harry knows more than I do.” Her throat is as scratchy as the sheets, it itches and itches and itches, “The first time it happened was back in First year. I found her standing in front of the Mirror of Erised, when she saw me she thought I was someone else I think. Then Quirrel and Voldemort showed up and she threw herself at him to keep me safe, climbing on his back and tearing a chunk out of him. He threw her off of him and into a pillar, it looked like she was going to pass out after that.”

A clicking sound, heels against a tiled floor, “Excuse me gentlemen I need to check her vitals.” A wave of magic washes over her and the itching fades for just a bit, “No changes, except for a dry throat, but that is to be expected.” More clicking and the conversation continues, “In second year she was the one who helped us in the Chamber of Secrets, told us who Tom Riddle was. She was thrown into the pool of water more times than I can count, and she burned her hands trying to get the sword to me. Tom threw her against another wall, and shook her like a dog, if Madam Pomfrey hadn’t healed her, I don’t know what would have happened.” Itch, itch, itch, so dry, why is it so dry?

“You both know what happened in third year, and we’ve all seen the scars on her back.” Someone scratches something, it sounds like fingers running through hair. Itch, itch, itch, so damn itchy. She takes a deep breath, hoping some air might soothe it, instead she starts coughing like she needs to remove a lung. “SHE’S AWAKE!” Her eyes fly open as someone helps her to sit up, they hold her steady as a glass of water is brought to her lips, Pyxis takes big gulps, the cool water soothing the itch. “Pyxis thank Merlin!” Someone grabs her around the waist and holds her tight, pain sparks up her side and she lets out a yelp, “Harry she’s still healing, give her some room.” The person lets go and she can breathe again.

Harry stands next to her, dressed in a cream colored hospital gown with bandages and fading bruises all over him. Remus and Sirius stand back behind him, both looking relieved and a little amused from Harry’s reaction, Draco sits on her other side, leaning back against a chair and pinching the bridge of his nose. She raises an eyebrow and asks in a scratchy voice, “What?” Draco glares at her and says, “You’ve gotta stop this.” She blinks, “Stop what.” He shoves something in front of her face and says, “Stop saving us. Take this, put it on, go back to wherever you come from. We don’t need you here. We don’t want you here, now go back and toss this stupid thing in a river or something and don’t ever look for it again.”

Pyxis focuses on what he’s holding and realizes its her ring. The stone glints in the early morning light, the battered gold band making it look like some ancient treasure instead of a stupid piece of jewelry that cuts her when she twists it around too much. “No.” Its Draco who blinks, but the mask he’s wearing doesn’t slip, “What?” She takes the ring from him and places it on the side table next to her bed, in her scratchy voice she says, “I’m not leaving until I know you’re all alright. And then when I do leave, I will come back if you need me too.” He grabs her shoulders tightly, fingers leaving a slight bruise as he shouts, “Are you deaf as well as stupid?! Take the damn ring and go home! You only get hurt here, and that puts us in more danger! You’re a liability, so just put on the damn thing and leave already!” He sounds angry, and he has every right to be. She got hurt. But thinking that she’ll be safe by never coming back? That’s just stupid.

His breath leaves him in harsh pants, his skin is flushed a light pink, but the anger in his eyes is the cracks she uses to see the pain underneath. The hands on her shoulder shake ever so slightly and she smiles tenderly at Draco, “You’re scared.” He flinches slightly, “You think its your fault because every time I do get hurt it’s because I’m protecting you and Harry.” Draco’s mask cracks a little more and he tries to pull away, “No I’m not you’re just—” “Don’t lie. You’re scared because I’ve nearly died every time we meet. I see you when the worst happens and then vanish into thin air once I’ve been wrung through the dryer.” Harry snickers behind her and she sticks her tongue out at him, “Its a good comparison, shut up!” 

Harry does so and she looks at the two of them, “You’re both fighting a war. And in wars people get hurt. Its no ones fault but their own. Lucius got me because I wasn’t paying attention, the graveyard happened because Harry and I were both caught off guard, the scars on my back were because I didn’t know any other way to fight.” She looks down at her side, the bandages are a bit rough, and only the salve the nurses placed under them keep her scars from itching, “This time was my fault. I let my guard down. Don’t ever think you’re responsible for this.” Draco looked away, “It was my father that caused those, so it is my fault—” She flicks his forehead, “OW!”

“You’re not your father Draco.” He just stares at her and she repeats, “You’re not your father. Just like Harry isn’t his father with his mother’s eyes, like how Sirius isn’t a criminal, and Remus isn’t a wolf. You’re you. You may look like someone people know, you may fit a few stereotypes, and some people might think your dangerous,” she glances to the faded bite mark where her neck joins with her shoulder, “But it doesn’t define you.”

She placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze, “Everything’s alright Draco.” He turns towards her, a few tears gathering at the edges of his eyes, “Alright, don’t get sappy on me.” Pyxis just laughs, “Ok I won’t, besides with the way Harry looks at you, I’m pretty sure he’s filled your quota for sap.” She hears Harry gasp and turns to him as he says, “You grew the mistletoe!” With a sly grin she says, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” They pester her about it and she just laughs them off, never giving them a straight answer, the two adults in the room looking on the three teenagers fondly. 

When Pyxis blinks she glances down at the scars along her side. They cross over one another, looking like wire mesh was pressed into her side and imprinted there. Taking a steadying breath she gets up off the couch and heads to the library, both of her parents are immersed in paperwork as she walks in. “Guys?” They look up and she bites her lip, “I need to ask you something.”

~*~

“DRACO! HARRY! PUT ME DOWN!” “Whatever you say Pixie.” “WAIT! STOP!” Her cries went unheard as the boys tossed Pyxis into the pond, she surfaced a few moments later screaming out, “ITS BLOODY FREEZING!!!” Two big splashes went up on either side of her and the water drenched her already soaked self, on the shore Blaise and Hermione were laughing happily. She glared at them and said, “You’re both horrible friends!” The two only laughed harder when Harry and Draco surfaced and splashed her a third time, she growled and swam to the shore. “Aw come on Pixie it isn’t that cold!” 

She stepped up onto the shore and shook her hair out like a dog, dripping all over Blaise and Hermione, “I know that! I just want to get rid of my shirt!” The boys rolled their eyes and started a race to see who could swim all the way to the other side of the pond and back the fastest. Blaise looked at her with a wrinkled nose, “Must you shake your hair like that every time you get it wet?” Pyxis grabbed the edges of her shirt and pulled the thin piece of fabric over her head, “Yes, it helps my hair get dry.” Thank Helga for a Hufflepuff sense of preparedness.

When Harry and Draco had suggested the five of them head over to the pond next to her house for the afternoon, Pyxis was happy to have enough sense to grab her swimsuit. Throwing her wet shirt on the ground next to her bag, she tied up her hair in a loose ponytail and turned to Hermione, “What do you think?” The other girl appraised her, “Conservative, but cute. I’m impressed.” Hermione removed her own shirt and said, “How about me?” Pyxis looked her friend up and down, “Gorgeous as usual ‘Mione.” The two of them nodded to each other once and looked back to the boys, all three of them were staring at the two of them with big eyes and slackened jaws.

“Hey ‘Mione?” “Yes Pixie?” “You know what I think?” “What do you think?” “I think, that they just remembered we’re girls.” Hermione bit back a laugh, “I’d have to concur.” Harry and Draco snapped out of it and looked away, Draco mumbled something about being indecent, while Harry dove under water and swam to the other side of the pond. “Pixie?” “Yes ‘Mione?” “You’re boyfriend is drooling.” Pyxis turned around to find Blaise still staring at her, completely stunned, she rolled her eyes and closed his mouth. “Blaise, you’ll catch flies if you leave your mouth open like that.” He snapped out of it then and looked around, focusing on her back once more, the quiet awe in his voice speaking volumes, “When did you get these done?”

Pyxis blushed as she reached behind her to trace along her back. In the past three weeks she had asked her parents if she could get tattoos to cover up her scars. She knew that they were nothing to be ashamed of, but scars weren’t always seen in the best light, her parents agreed only if they knew why she wanted the tattoos. She’d told them that she wanted to remember how she got them in a better way, “I know it sounds like I’m looking at them with rose-tinted glasses, but I just want them to look nice. Not like a bunch of gashes that people will pity me for.” They took her to the nearest wizarding tattoo parlor the next day.

Across her shoulders was the moon with a star in the shape of a dog running around it, it would arc across the top of her back and change in time with the actual moon. Down her spine was the constellation Pyxis, if someone traced a finger down it, the dots would connect and then open outward to unveil a howling wolf. Along her left side was a a dragon that chased after a bolt of lightning that originated from the topmost scar. Blaise glanced at the dragon carefully and asked, “What kind is it?” She grinned, “An Antipodeon Opaleye.” He raised an eyebrow, “Why that one?” She shrugged, “It just seemed to fit at the time, not really sure why.” 

She couldn’t tell them the real reason, so she hoped they’d except this one. Blaise took one more glance at the dragon and then shrugged, “They seem pretty calm for tattoos.” She nodded, “They kinda respond to emotion, the dragon spits fire when I’m really mad, and the dog starts growling when I feel scared, it was a bit weird the first couple weeks.” Hermione looked at the line of dots along her spine, “May I?” Pyxis grinned, “Go on, she hasn’t been let out in a while.” Hermione traced a finger lightly down her friends back, Pyxis could feel the ink shifting to make room and she felt it as the wolf howled silently to the moon above it. 

“I wonder what would happen if we threw you in the pond again.” Pyxis tensed, “Say wha—” She didn’t get to finish, Blaise scooped her up in his arms and ran full speed into the lake, jumping into the deepest part once he reached the edge of the shore. They hit the water with so much force that they made small waves push Harry and Draco shorewards. Hermione is laughing once again, until the two boys drag her into the water as well. 

When Blaise and Pyxis surface, she’s screaming and trying to wriggle out of Blaise’s arms, “Lemme go! Its cold! Bloody Fucking Hell its cold!” Blaise just laughs and kisses her cheek, making her turn bright red, “Not that cold now is it?” She turns an even brighter shade of red and looks away, even though the rest of her is curling closer towards his body heat, “Its still cold you prat.” Blaise just laughed.

~*~

It was a month before the school year began that it happened.

Pyxis had gone with Draco and her Aunt Narcissa to visit Malfoy Manor for the last time. Their solicitor had told Narcissa that a very prestigious wizarding family had taken interest in it and wanted to buy the manse for their own. After a lot of back and forth, the two families had come to a compromise on the price and the Malfoy’s had two weeks to remove anything and everything important from the old estate. Pyxis had never been to the Manor before and was curious to see what the ancient house might hold, wondering if there were any screeching portraits like in Grimmauld Place. She loved riling up her grandmother Walburga when Uncle Regulus wasn’t looking.

As they stepped inside the grand mahogany doors, Pyxis felt a hush fill the entryway. The front room gave the impression of a light and airy space, but something was off here, there was something hiding in the corners, whispering just beyond her range of view. A tension in the air that neither Narcissa or Draco seemed to feel; as she paused, a hand came to rest on her shoulder and Death said, “There is danger here. For both the worlds.” Her owb voice was barely above a whisper as she asked, “How?” Death was at her other ear now, “Too close. Far too close. The seams are blurring, the strings bound too tight. A heavy shadow hanging over a faint light.”

Narcissa and Draco had gone ahead without her, not realizing that she’d stopped, so Pyxis was left alone in the front halls, lost in a place where two world could collide.

Taking a breath the young sixteen year old started down the first hallway she found, as she turned a corner, the tension seemed to snap into two separate pieces. A bright light flashed before her, brighter than any other crossing, her body felt like it was being pulled in two different directions, while at the same cleaving something so thick it felt as if she were wading through treacle. When the light faded and the slight sting ebbed away, Pyxis found herself in a very changed Manor. The halls were dark, sconces glowing dimly, an air of fear and madness making a chill run down her spine. A cackle came from out of nowhere, making her dive into the nearest alcove out of fear. 

A woman emerged from around the corner with a gangly man trailing behind her, “Bellatrix are you sure that the boy will go through with it?” The woman turned, “Barty dearest, what makes you think he won’t? Can’t you tell he’s just jittery with excitement!” The man sneered, “I am not your dearest, save your inane endearments for your incompetent husband.” The woman pouted, “Oh but Crouchy, you know how he doesn’t appreciate them, at least not in the way you do.” She gave a feral smile and the gangly man grimaced, as he did a deranged laugh escaped her lips, “Oh Crouchy, you do have the most amusing reactions.” The woman gripped his chin tightly, nails digging into the soft flesh, a bead of blood pooling from where she scratched him, “Makes me want to hex you until you never move again.”

The sound of footsteps interrupted the conversation. Coming from Pyxis’s end of the Hallway were two more figures, both of them bearing the pale skin and silver blond hair she knew so well. Bellatrix let go of Crouch and smiled once more, “Cissy! And little Draco!” The two paused just in front of Pyxis’s alcove, both visibly tensing as Bellatrix approached, “Oh Cissy darling. Is your little Draco ready to receive our Dark Lord’s gift?” A mask of calm was set firmly on Narcissa Malfoy’s face, she was still as beautiful as ever, looking as young as she did in the other world. But here you could see her age, the faintest of lines on the corners of her lips, tiny furrows on her forehead, and the heavily concealed shadows underneath her eyes.

With a neutral voice Narcissa said, “Of course, its an honor he is ready to accept.” Bellatrix’s smile grew thinner and she turned to Draco, “Is what your mother says true?” He clenched his jaw, Pyxis could see the bead of sweat rolling down the back of his neck, “Yes. I am ready to receive the mark.” Pyxis let out a gasp, slapping both hands over her mouth shortly after to try and contain the sound, but it was too late. 

Draco turned towards the alcove and his eyes widened, Bellatrix shoved him aside to see for herself. The smile she had on her face swiftly turned into a snarl, “YOU.” Bellatrix was so fast, Pyxis didn’t know what happened until she was already pinned to the back wall, “YOU’RE THE LITTLE BITCH THAT THREW ME INTO A WALL!!” Pyxis’s neck was pinned by Bellatrix’s arm, she couldn’t reach her wand because her other hand was held in a vice against her side. Out of desperation, she tilted her her head downwards and dug her teeth into the tender flesh of the other woman’s arm. Biting down as hard as she could, tearing into the muscle and filling her mouth with warm coppery taste of blood.

“ARGGHH!!” Bellatrix released her and took a step back, cradling her arm to her chest as Crouch tried to figure out what was going on. Draco was too stunned to do anything, so Pyxis reached for her wand and aimed it at Crouch, “STUPEFY!” The Death Eater was blown back a step before collapsing on the ground, another Stupefy was cast, this time by Narcissa, and Bellatrix crumpled to the ground. Turning, Narcissa met Pyxis’s gaze as she said, “You’re her. The one Draco talks about.” Pyxis stepped into the light and nodded, “Take him from here.” Pyxis blinked, “How? I can’t apparate.”

Narcissa glanced to her son and then to the two Death Eaters that lay on the floor, “There is a secret exit not too far from here, Draco knows it. Run there as fast as you can and don’t stop running until you reach the edge of the estate, I’ll try and delay them as much as I can.” Draco rounded on his mother, “What?! NO! They’ll kill you!” Pyxis gripped her wand tighter, “He’s right Au— Lady Malfoy. We can’t just leave you here.” Voices echoed up from behind them and Narcissa’s face grew grim, “You can and you will, take my son and leave here, I will not have him serve that monster.” 

The voices drew closer and Narcissa pushed the two of them towards the opposite end of the hall, “Go Now!” Pyxis took hold of Draco’s hand and started running, “Pyxis wait! We can’t leave her behind!” She stopped at the end of the hallway, the sound of running feet was before them and the voices from before were already in the hall. Turning to Draco she said, “Draco if we don’t leave now we’ll all die.” His hand clenched around hers and she looked around, there was a door just to their left and she dragged them into it. When the door clicked shut, she made sure to lock it before taking a look at the room. 

They’d ended up in a study of some sort, a rich oaken desk sat towards the back of the room a plush wing-backed chair lined with dragon hide seated behind that. The wall to her left was lined with floor to ceiling bookshelves, many of the volumes written in ancient latin. To their right was a large fireplace, its mantle decorated with strange odds and ends, and over it hung a large portrait of one Lucius Malfoy. He sneered at the two of them and said, “I’ve told you time and again Draco, do not enter my study.” She glared at him and whispered, “Shut up you glorified piece of watercolors.”

Draco chuckled at the portrait’s affronted look before sagging heavily against the side of the fireplace. Worried Pyxis sat down next to him, “Your mother’s a tough woman, she’ll be fine.” He shook his head and pulled his knees to his chest, “You don’t know Pyxis. You don’t know what he’s truly capable of, he’ll find a way to break her. And when he has everything he needs, he’ll make her hurt until she begs for death.” She bit her lip, “Then we’ll make sure to get her out before that happens.” Draco shook his head, “How? There’s no way we’ll ever be able to get back here, we can’t even get out!” She wrapped an arm around him, “Hey, hey look at me,” he did, “there’s a fireplace here, and normally where there’s a fireplace, there’s a floo. So we might have a chance. If that’s out, then I’m pretty sure the hall’s clear by now, we can try how your mom suggested. Once we’re out, we’ll contact the Order, get them to conduct a raid or something, and then, and then…” 

She stopped. Even if they did make it that far, they would be grabbing at straws to ask the Order for help, especially if they weren’t prepared. She squeezed Draco tightly and leaned her head on his shoulder, “We’ll find a way Draco. Don’t worry. Your mom will be fine, you two will be safe and back to eating fancy finger foods and wrinkling your noses to everything you consider to be plebeian in not time.” That got a weak laugh from him, but he didn’t lift his head. She sighed and got up, “There’s gotta be some floo powder around here somewhere.” 

After checking the mantle piece first, she searched every shelf and drawer for a pinch of the stuff. Even going so far as to try sniffing the stuff out, she’d never been able to tell what it smelled like when it wasn’t on the fire, but she was willing to try. “Aren’t you worried for your mother whenever you come here?” Pyxis paused, licking her lips before answering, “I never knew my mother. She died before I was born.” She kept on searching, “Your father then.” The scent of something familiar caught her attention and she began to follow it, “Depends usually. They don’t remember me when I’m gone, so I’m not too worried. At least not unless I have to explain some new scar I have.” 

The scent led her to lowest part of the bookshelf between two volumes titled: A History of Muggles. She snorted, “You’re dad pretty keen on muggles huh?” Draco snorted this time, “No, he despises them.” “I thought so.” She pulled the two books back and found a secret open space just behind them, as she reached in she felt two things; one was obviously a pot of some kind, but the other was much smaller and attached to a chain of some sort. “You said they, as in… plural?” She pulled out the pot first, giving a tiny whoop when she discovered floo powder inside of it, setting that on the desk she said, “Yeah, I’ve got two dads, kinda comes with being adopted. You never know what kind of parents you’re going to get, but they’re gonna love you till the bitter end anyways.” 

She reached back inside the small space and pulled out the other object, when she brought it to the light, she found that it was a necklace of some sort. “You’re adopted?!” Stuffing the necklace in her pocket for later she said, “yeah. I didn’t tell you guys?” Draco was standing now and he shook his head, “No… So, do you have any idea who you birth parents were?” Pyxis frowned and picked up the pot of floo powder, “I know who the man who sired me was… I don’t know all that much about my mom.” Draco’s brow furrowed, “The man who sired you? You mean your father?” 

Pyxis approached the fireplace and scowled at it, “My father and the person who sired me are two different people,” she faced Draco, “the latter will never be my father.” She threw a handful of the powder onto the grate and the fireplace roared to life, green flames dancing eerily in the dark room, “It works! Ok, Draco, you go in first.” Draco glanced nervously between her and the fireplace, “I don’t know where we’re going.” Her eyes widened at that, “That— That would be a problem wouldn’t it.” Draco gave her a blank look, “You think?” She rolled her eyes and brought her hand to her chin, ‘Where could they go that was safe?’

Hogsmeade was out, because she wasn’t to keen on possibly breaking into someone’s house with Death Eaters hot on their tails. Hogwarts was closed for the summer and she was pretty sure she couldn’t get past the wards even if she tried. The cottage that Draco and Narcissa lived in in her world was probably still under the Malfoy name here as well, but that would mean the Death Eaters would have easy access as well. 

Pyxis glanced up at the portrait above her, Lucius Malfoy sneered down at her and said, “filthy child, desecrating my private office with her impurities.” She snapped her fingers, “That’s It!” Draco raised an eyebrow and said, “I’m going first, just to test if this works, then I’ll come and get you.” He paled considerably at that, “Wh-what if they find me before you get back?” She bit her lip, “Shit…” Tugging on her curls she tried thinking of a solution, Draco couldn’t let him go first because the wards might not let him in. She couldn’t go first because the other Death Eaters might come through at any moment. Taking a breath she said, “Do you want to try going through at the same time?” 

Draco blanched, “is that even possible?” There were sounds coming from the other side of the door, Pyxis paled and said, “Draco you need to go, now.” The handle jiggled and he stepped closer towards her, “I don’t know where I’m going.” She pushed him into the flames and pressed close to him, “Number 12 Grimmauld Place!” There was a loud WHOOSH as the green flames engulfed them both, Pyxis wrapped her arms around Draco tightly as they were whisked away. The spiraling sensation threatening to rip the two of them apart at every turn, Draco sounded like he was screaming the entire time, but with the roar of the flames was so loud she couldn’t really tell.

Finally, the two of them were more or less dropped into another fireplace, the two of them falling to the ground in a crumpled heap because of how tight they were holding each other. Coughing, they let go and crawled out from the ashes, blinking constantly to keep the soot from getting in their eyes, “P-Pyx-Pyxis,” Draco coughed loudly, “Wh-where, where the Bloody hell are we?!” She wipes her eyes on the sleeve of her robe and stands up, “Its too dark, I can’t—” As she walks forward, her foot catches on something in front of her and she falls over, some kind of heavy fabric falls with her and a familiar screeching voice cries out, “FILTH! SCUM! ILLEGITIMATE WOLF CHILD TAINTING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS! DEVIL SPAWN! BLOOD TRAITORS! WOLF TAINT! SPREADING DISGRACE AND SHAME ON THE MOST NOBLE AND ANCIENT HOUSE OF BLACK!!” 

The lights turn on and Draco makes his way over to Pyxis to help disentangle Pyxis from the curtain. There’s some cursing and someone shouts, “Shut up Mother!” She’s freed and the screaming turns muffled when the curtain is pulled over the portrait, Draco helps her up and she has to blink a bit to adjust her eyes to the light. Remus, Sirius, and Harry are all staring at the two of them in confusion, she looked at the floo and then back at Sirius, “This place is Unplottable right?” Sirius blinked, “Yes?” Pyxis ran a hand through her hair, “Thank Merlin.” Draco sagged against her tiredly and she stumbled a bit to try and steady him, Harry ran down to help. As the two of them got Draco to sit, Harry asked, “How did you guys even get here? Why are you guys even here?” 

Pyxis felt Draco take hold of her arm, the tightness of his grip telling her he was still a bit shaken up, “They were going to give him the mark, I kinda gave myself away when I was hiding and we had to run.” Draco leaned against Harry and chuckled a bit, “That’s the short version.” She turns to the two adults behind them, “He can stay here right? You won’t toss him out?” Remus let out a loud breath and said, “We won’t, you don’t have to worry about that.” 

She smiles at them and gets up, Death’s voice whispers in her ear, “It is safe once more. The divide is clear.” And with that she’s whisked away once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for Reading!!! Kudos and comments appreciated!!   
> Come find me on tumblr: bio-blegh.tumblr.com


	18. Replacements and Restitution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am late, I know, but I've worked really hard on this chapter and I hope you guys like it. Enjoy!

As she lay back on her four poster, Pyxis held up the locket to the light of the sconces, trying to figure out what the S engraved on it could mean. She knew it was dangerous, that much was for certain, the smell of dark magic coming from it was so thick that she had to cover her nose with the bed sheets. The locket spun and the glow of the sconces in the room made the edges of the locket glint faintly. She sighs and sets the locket in the drawer of the nightstand next to her bed, “Pixie?” Looking up, she finds Susan peeking up through the hatch to their dorm.

“What’s up Sue?” “Your Quidditch captain told me to come get you, she wants all the old team mates on the pitch.” Pyxis nodded, “Ok I’ll be down in a minute, thanks for telling me.” Susan nodded and disappeared underneath the hatch, Pyxis rolled off of her bed and headed for the ladder.

When she reached the pitch, there was already a sizable group, all the old players were going around and greeting the newbies, telling them to try their best. The captain caught sight of her walking up and said, “There’s our Seeker!” She rolled her eyes and sidled up to her and said, “What’s up Cap?” She grinned, “Well you wanted to find a replacement right?” Pyxis let out a breath, “Yeah,” the captain put a comforting hand on Pyxis’s shoulder and addressed everyone, “Alright now that we’re all here we can get started. As you all know, tryouts are beginning soon and we all know we can’t have everyone on the team, mainly because we’d overwhelm the opponents from our sheer amazingness. So of course we have to be fair and make some cuts.” The other Hufflepuffs laughed and the captain continued, “So today we’ll have all the newcomers trying out, just like every year you’ll be grouped with the person who had the position you want previously. You’ll go through some drills, maybe we’ll do a practice game, but don’t worry even us old folks have to fight to keep our spots.” 

Pyxis elbowed the captain of the team in the side, “We’re teenagers not Dumbledore.” The others got a kick out of that, they all mounted up and the newcomers paired up with older members on the team. Pyxis looked at the little boy that was trying out for the seeker position this year, he was only a second year and had the biggest brown eyes she had ever seen. Holding out her hand, and remembering her own try outs she says, “I’m Pyxis, glad to see some fresh talent this year, think you’re Seeker material?” The boy nodded, “I’m Randall, and yeah, I am. They say you’re the best seeker of all the houses, is that true?’ Pyxis bit back a laugh, “I’m good, but I don’t think I’m the best. Harry’s probably got me beat by a mile, the seeker for the Slytherin team. He flies like he’s born to do it, and Draco, their reserve, is pretty good too; but thanks for thinking I am.”

The boy smiles, cheeks turning a bit pink, "Pyxis?" "Yes?" "Do- Do you think ill be as good as you, or as the other seekers?" She gives him a bright smile and points to his broom, a model that came out a few years ago called the Whiplash, "Only one way to find out right?" The boy nods once and mounts up.

The two of them take off through the sky, Pyxis has Randall go through a few of the drills Cedric put her through, for nostalgia's sake. Then she has him try and catch a couple of wooden balls she's transfigured from rocks, tossing them up into the air every now and again to test his reflexes. He manages to catch all but one, and that was because she enchanted it to follow where her wand pointed. It was a test to see if he would give up right away or not. The first time the ball evaded him he seemed a bit surprised, but he keeps at it. About twenty minutes in to the drill, he nearly has it in his grips and Pyxis says, "Alright Randall, come on down!" The ball falls down and she catches it before it hits the ground, Randall flies down, "What's next?" She grins, "We go in and have dinner." Randall blinked, "But... But the tryouts-" she laughs, "Randall, the tryouts ended an hour ago, I've been making that rock fly closer to the ground so you'd notice, but you were too focused on catching the damn thing instead of paying attention to you’re surroundings. You nearly crashed a couple times without realizing it.” 

His eyes widen as he finally gets a look at the pitch around him, all the other players had gone in, the sky was a faint golden color, and the stars were just beginning to wink into existence. "Wha... Oh God I'm sorry Pyxis I didn't mean-" she cuts him off with a wave of her hand, "Don't worry about it Randall, when I first tried out, the same thing happened to me. Well, actually I didn't stay out this long, but that's a good thing. Trust me, it means you're dedicated to the game and to helping the team win." She squeezed his shoulder and the two began to walk towards the Great Hall for dinner, "There's still a few more days of tryouts, and we'll need to put you against another seeker to see how well you play in an actual game. But listen here Randall, if you keep doing what you're doing, I think I might have to take up the reserve seeker position." 

Randall's eyes were the size of saucers when she said that, and Pyxis had to use all of her restraint to not laugh in the second year's face, "R-really? You mean it?" She nodded, "Yes, I mean it. But remember, you still have to impress the other old players, so don't slack off." Randall bobbed his head up and down so quickly his face was a blur, "Yes Pyxis! I promise, I'll work really hard! I'll get really good, I'll practice everyday, and I'll never be late to a meeting." At that she did laugh, "Ok, Randall you're not on the team yet, focus on getting on the team, then we'll discuss seeker training." But the second year was on a roll, as he raced over to the Hufflepuff table he shouted back, "I'll make you proud Pyxis!" She snickered and waved him off, he sat down with the rest of the second years, hands flailing wildly as he talked.

Someone nudged her side and said, "Trying to keep up morale for this year Pyx? Better stop that now, because we're gonna cream you this year." She rolled her eyes, "Actually, I was just giving a pep talk to Hufflepuff's newest seeker, and I believe it's you that's going to get creamed.” On her other side, Harry frowned a bit, “He won’t be as good as you.” Pyxis gives a small smile and squeezes Harry’s shoulder, “You’re right. He’ll be even better.” Harry lets out a loud sigh and runs a hand through his hair, making Draco say, “Stop that, it already looks like a birds nest, no need to make it worse.” Harry grins at that and Pyxis chuckles, “Come on boys, if we don’t sit now all the food will be gone.” 

Draco snorted, “Must you always focus on the fact that there will be no food?” Pyxis gives him a pointed look, “Hey, food is very important I’ll have you know. Plus I’m pretty sure Harry’s already eyeing that Treacle Tart over on the Slytherin table.” Draco looked around his cousin to find that Harry was indeed nearly drooling over the Treacle Tart resting at the end of the Slytherin table. He laughs, “Alright, lets eat.”

~*~

She’s walking through the Restricted Section of the Library when a book seems to stick out at her. Its at the very back of the aisle, and as she walked past it, it seemed to wiggle a bit, like it was being triggered by something. At the same time, the locket in her pocket seemed to heat up. It hadn’t reacted to anything before, and she knew it wasn’t right to just carry it around every day, but something told her she needed to. 

So she scaled the shelves and tried to pull out a very big, very heavy leather book from one of the top shelves. When the book started to fall out of her grip, she falls off of the shelf and barely manages to roll away to keep the book form crushing her on its way down. It landed with a loud bang and a heavy cloud of dust puffed up from where it landed, coughing slightly, she waves away the dust particles and bends down to pick up the old tome. Its title was faded slightly, written in an elegant script that read “Vita Magia*,” Pyxis wrinkled her nose and said, “Latin, great.”

Footsteps echoed up the corridor and Filch peered down the aisle she was in, “What’s all this then?! Trying to sneak about are ya?” Pyxis shook her head and showed him the note written by Professor Flitwick, “I’ve got permission sir, I’m doing a bit of research on ancient magics.” Filch limps up to her and grabs the note out of her hand, sneering, he squints down at the note and reads the neat script written there. He shoves the piece of paper back at her and says, “Alright ya’ve got yer book. Now get.” Pyxis nodded and moved around him, clutching the book close to her chest and heading out of the library. She ran out through the Great Hall and towards the Whomping Willow, on her way there she bumped into Blaise.

"Watch out Pyx, you might run into someone." She stuck her tongue out at him and took a step back, he eyed the book in her arms, “Doing a bit of light reading? I thought Hermione was the only one who did that.” She elbowed him in the side and said, “No, this is for something personal, and I’m not going to read all of it.” Blaise raised an eyebrow, “Personal?” A group of younger students passed them by and she took him by the elbow to lead him out of the Great Hall. As they walked she said, “Its got to do with what I found the last time I crossed,” they stopped just a few feet from the Willow to pick up a couple stones. The tree lowered its branches and made ready to block the attack, “You wanna try this time Blaise?” He smirked and tossed a stone up in the air, “If I get this, you need to tell me more about this world you like to disappear to.” She rolled her eyes, “If you don’t I get to steal your scarf for the next week.” 

He smirked, took aim, and threw, the rock dove through a small hole between the branches and landed squarely on the knot. The Willow straightened up and stilled, Pyxis’s eyes widened as she said, “You’ve been practicing!” Blaise shoved his hands in his pockets and said, “I’ve got to impress you somehow.” She laughed happily and led him to the little alcove under the roots, she set the book down in front of them both and pulled out the locket. “This is what I was talking about last time.” In the dim light that filtered through the roots, the locket looked darker than normal, more ominous. “A locket?” “yeah, in that world this was in the Malfoy Manor in an alcove next to some floo powder. I’d forgotten I’d grabbed while looking for the powder, there were more important things?” 

Blaise raised an eyebrow, “What kind of important things?” She set the locket on the ground, “Running away from Death Eater for one, and getting the other world’s Draco somewhere safe for another.” His eyes widen and he says, “DEATH EATERS! But those guys were all rounded up ages ago, there isn’t a war anymore.” She bites her lip and stares at the locket, “Not here anyways.” Blaise looks at the locket and takes her hand in his, “What does this have to do with it? The war I mean.” She gives a small smile, “I’m not sure. I know its got a lot of Dark magic surrounding it, but I don’t know what it is.” She opens the cover of the book, “Thats what I need this for, it reacted to it for some reason, and I think it might have an answer.” 

The two of them perused the book for a long time, sometimes stopping when they thought a passage might be relevant. The majority of the text was written in latin, but with the help of some translation charms, they were able to read it without too much trouble. The light of the sun waned considerably by the time they found what they were looking for. 

Under a chapter listed as, “Est magicae**,” they found a passage that listed several ways in which a wizard could affect his soul. “Pyx look at this,” Blaise pointed to a paragraph at the bottom of the page and she cast a Lumos so they could read it better, “One of the darkest and most profound ways to affect the soul of a Wizard is by making a Horcrux. This process is known to be one of the darkest forms of magic known to wizarding kind, with it one may be able to conceal a portion of one’s soul in an object and therefore protect’s oneself from harm.” The passage ended and the rest of the page went off to describe another form of magic to bind two souls together. The two of them glanced up from the book and looked at the locket resting just in front of them, the reality of what it was crashing down on Pyxis.

Unable to help herself, Pyxis screams and pulls as far away from the piece of Voldemort’s soul as possible.

~*~

Just before the Winter holidays Pyxis makes her way through the halls of Hogwarts with the world resting in her pocket. The locket has not left her side since the day she and Blaise had discovered what it was, both of them had spent long hours trying to destroy the damn thing with every hex and curse they knew. But nothing seemed to work, despite being old and battered, the thing didn’t have a scratch on it. So now she carries the accursed thing in her pocket, mainly because she didn’t trust anyone to not try and take it. 

As she walks down the halls, her pocket jumps and the ring flashes a familiar bright light. Hogwarts changes slightly, the air is charged with tension, whispers filter through the halls and eyes are everywhere. Pyxis rubs her own and goes where the locket seems to lead her. A door is slightly ajar and Filch is distracted by Severus Snape, from inside the door came the sounds of laughter and a faint melody of the latest song by the Weird Sisters. While Filch’s back is turned she slips in through the crack and enters the party. 

A number of students are milling about, some eating, some conversing, others drinking and laughing in groups. Everyone’s in their best dress robes and some of the most influential people in the wizarding world are present. Feeling out of place Pyxis dives behind some curtains and sits on the sill of the window to watch as the others mingle. She sees Rufus Scrimegour chatting it up with some Ravenclaws; a famous potion’s master, who’s name she can’t quite recall, discussing the benefits of using henbane as an ingredient for killing weeds; and Horace Slughorn buttering up several students with large amounts of champagne and treats. The curtain is pulled back and two people sneak behind, “Oh god I’d thought we’d never get away,” “They do appear to be quite hungry don’t they.” She keeps silent and the first person speaks again, “Hungry, what are you talking about? They were more focused on trying to get me to work for them after Hogwarts than they were on the quiches.” The second’s eyes widen, “Harry… do you have any idea how oblivious you are?” 

Pyxis can’t help herself and covers her mouth as she chuckles and the two turn, they both grin as she says, “Oh Merlin Harry, you’re an idiot.” He rolls his eyes as he asks, “what are you doing here? How did you even get in here?” She hopped off the sill, “Got lucky, Filch’s back was turned, what is this by the way?” Draco raises an eyebrow, “You snuck in here and you don’t even know what it is? Do you even know why you came here?” She’s extremely tempted to answer his sarcasm with her own but when, she places one hand in her pocket, fingers hovering over the locket her face darkens, “I really need to talk to you.” They notice the shift in her mood and take her out from behind the curtain, no one notices the three as they leave the party. 

They reach an abandoned hallway and the boys ask, “what do you need to talk about?” This time she takes hold of the locket and bring it to light, Harry’s eyes widen and Draco gasps. With a wavering voice she says, “I know what it is, but I have no idea how to get rid of it.” Harry glances between her and the locket once before grabbing her around the waste and spinning her around, she shrieks and nearly drops the necklace to grab hold of Harry. When he sets her down he says, “You are brilliant you know that?” She blinks and adjusts her grip on the locket, Draco coughs and they turn, “I hate to interrupt, but I believe that we need to get this to Dumbledore as soon as possible.” 

“Do you now?”

The three of them whirl around to find the Headmaster just behind them, “And why is it you needed to find me?” The locket is still in her hand when it heats up, she yelps and drops the piece of jewelry on the ground, the casing pops open and a black cloud emerges from inside it. It roars and lunges for Pyxis, surrounding her completely and blocking out the others. From behind the cloud she can hear Draco yelling her name, but another voice drowns his out. It sounds warped and distorted, like someone’s speaking through a broken microphone, “I know you child. I have seen your deepest fear, lived your worst nightmares.” 

Thunder booms from the parts of the cloud closest to her, she screams and covers her ears, whispers sneak in and say, “its your fault. Its always your fault. You’re a monster. You deserve to die. This world would be better without you. You will never be a proper witch. You let him get hurt. You wanted him to get hurt.” On and on they went, and she curled in on herself, figures emerged from the smoke, pale shades of people she loved. They taunted and belittled her, shouting that she was nothing to them, that she was an outsider in her own home. They ranted that she was a monster that deserved to be put down, that she would never be anything more than her predecessor, a feral beast even outside of the full moon.

A green light flashed where the locket lay and the cloud disappeared, Harry and Draco rushed over and checked to make sure Pyxis wasn’t hurt. Dumbledore made his way over to the locket and picked it up, the piece of jewelry looked even more worn than before, and the inside was charred black. Pyxis sat up and leaned against Harry, taking deep steadying breaths, Draco was rubbing her back and saying, “Its alright, its gone now, you’re safe.” Tears were streaking down her face, and she kept one hand on Draco’s robes at all times, when Dumbledore approached them he said, “I believe the young lady should return home now.” 

She nods tiredly and stands up, Harry steadies her when her legs get a little wobbly, but once she’s standing she waves him off, “I’m fine. Really.” They watch her with worried eyes as she fiddles with her ring, there’s a convenient flash and Pyxis finds herself back in her own world. She sags against the wall and runs a hand down her face, “Pxy?” Turning she finds Blaise walking up the hallway, she gives him a tired smile and says, “We got rid of it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Life Magic  
> **Soul Magic  
> I apologize if I got some of the latin wrong, I was using google translate.  
> Thanks for reading! Kudos and Comments Appreciated!  
> Come find me on tumblr: bio-blegh.tumblr.com


	19. Founders and Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Update time, so this chapter is giving me a bit of grief because, A: Pyxis saved Draco therefore he can't attempt to kill dumbledore, and B: they destroyed the Horcrux they were going after so there was no near death experience in a cave by the ocean. So instead we have some canon stuff altered by yours truly for plot purposes, and then some cute random stuff that I feel needs to be in every chapter. And then the real plot of it all. So have fun, enjoy.

There’s a faint light coming from inside of Myrtle’s bathroom, the sound of muffled crying echoes from within. 

Pyxis steps inside.

The floor has puddles of water riddled throughout it, Myrtle is sitting atop one of the stalls and humming some long forgotten ditty. As Pyxis made her way through, the sound of crying grows worse and she can somehow feel the person’s pain. They’re terrified, they’re tired, they can’t do this anymore, they might fail, but they can’t fail, so much resting on his shoulders. A leaden weight rests on their left arm, but they refuse to just let it lie, they have a job to do, and they will do it. Turning the corner Pyxis sees a boy leaning over one of the sinks, his body is shaking from the force of his sobs.

Stepping up behind him, she rests one hand on the flat of his back and he looks up into the mirror. For a split second he sees her, for a split second he seems to welcome the warmth of her palm, and then that second is shattered when a voice from behind them both says, “Malfoy?” Soft grey eyes turn hards as steel when Draco whips around to see who’s spoken, Pyxis does the same. Harry stands at the corner of the stalls, green eyes cautious, but concerned, Pyxis raises her eyebrows and she says, “Harry.” He looks up, green eyes widening slightly as he catches sight of her, and just like before, there’s a surreal sense to everything. As if in the moments they look at one another, they don’t truly see.

Then a bolt of light passes through her and destroys the side of the bathroom stall. Harry jumps out of the way and Draco runs for the other end of the bathroom, Harry dives for the ground and Draco casts a Confringo near the other boy. Pyxis shrieks at first and goes to lean against the sink, but her hand passes right through and she falls to the ground. “What?” “Reducto!” Harry dodges another bolt of light, this time hitting the wall just next to his head, “Expelliarmus!’ Draco gets out of the way in time and keeps his wand. Her eyes widen and she shouts, “STOP!” 

Moaning Myrtle slaps both hands over Pyxis’s mouth, “This is how it must be in this world. This is what you have prevented in the others.” She squirms against the dead girl’s grip, but Myrtle is surprisingly strong, when Pyxis turns, she finds that Myrtle’s eyes were completely black, as if consumed by the pupil. She screams against those hands, but the ghost keeps her silent, Myrtle floats them both above the boys who were now fighting around the sinks hiding the Chamber entrance. As Draco tries to cast the Cruciatas Curse, Harry shouts, “SECTUMSEMPRA!” Myrtle lets go of Pyxis then and she falls towards Draco, the entire time shouting, “NO! STOP!” 

Unlike when she touched him before, she falls straight through him, and once she fits into his body, the curse hits. Blinding pain erupts on her front, and she just falls. She can’t breathe, and every gasp she does make is wet and filled with the taste of copper. Above her, Draco is flying, he’s staring down at his own body, eyes wide and frightened. 

He thinks he’s dying.

She feels the blood this time, feels it alongside the fire, how its spilling into the water around her, how she’s growing colder and colder because of the loss of it. She thinks she hears someone screaming, she thinks she feels someone pick up he- Draco’s body, but she’s never entirely sure. Draco, the one in the air, floats down next his body and just stares at it. Someone else comes in and pushes Harry to the side, he waves his wand over Draco’s body and the pain stops, a song filling her ears as the blood returns to it. A gentle force tugs her out of the body and for a moment she and Draco catch sight of one another, his eyes widen as she floats out and he floats back in. 

Finally everything becomes clear.

Its Snape that’s saving Draco’s life, its Harry who’s having a panic attack next to them both, and its Peeves thats screaming, “MURDER! MURDER IN THE GIRL’S LAVATORY!” The world began to blur, and the tugging sensation that pulled her out of Draco’s body pulls her once again, only this time far away from the scene.  
~*~

She wakes up in a cold sweat and her skin clinging to the sheets. She doesn’t scream, she doesn’t thrash, she’s just frozen.

A light comes on to her left and Hannah rubs one eye, “Pyxis?” Pyxis yawns and sits up, “yeah?” Hannah fiddles with her comforter and asks, “you ok?” Pyxis winces, a phantom pain echoing in her chest, “I’m always ok. Did I wake you up?” Hannah shook her head, “I’ve been awake for a while now,” she lifts a small book off of her bed, “Neville gave me this to read, says it might have some stuff I like in it.” Pyxis reached over to her nightstand and pulled out a scrunchie, “Are you two together yet or what?” Hannah turns bright red and hides her face behind her book, “Its not like that!” There’s a muffled chuckle from Hannah’s other side, and Susan lifts her head from her pillow, “Han, you two have been dancing around each other for the past year and a half, of course its like that.” 

Hannah throws herself into the bed and pulls the covers over head, “No its not!!!” Pyxis snickers, “Hannah he carries your books to class, you help him with his potion’s homework, I’ve even seen you sharing food. It is totally like that.” She pulls her hair back and ties it in a loose braid while Sue leans back against her headboard, “Not to mention how he’s constantly blushing whenever you give him a compliment; especially when you compliment him in Herbology.” Hannah hurls pillows at the other two and says, “Be quiet!” 

The other girls laugh at their friend’s obvious embarrassment, when they calm down Hannah looks up, “… do you really think I have a chance with him?” Pyxis and Susan look at each other from across their friend, with a simultaneous roll of their eyes they make their way into Hannah’s bed. Surrounding her in a cocoon of their arms and the blankets Sue says, “Han, you’ve already got him wrapped around your little finger.” Hannah smiles and pulls the other two close, “You guys are the best.” Pyxis squeezed back, “Of course we are, and don’t you forget that.” 

They sat for a while with each other, coming up with ridiculous ideas to get Hannah and Neville together, some of them involving Pyxis, the full moon, and some stolen armor. Sue’s bedside clock chimes three times and their eyes widened a bit, “Is it really that late?” Hannah glanced at the clock, “Merlin’s beard it is.” The three of them snort at the phrase, and hop back into their own beds, each of them blowing out the lamps on the nightstands next to them. “Goodnight Sue, Goodnight Han.” “Goodnight Han, Goodnight Pyx.” “Goodnight Sue, Goodnight Pyx.” 

Silence drapes itself over the room like a warm blanket, Susan and Hannah falling into the sweet bliss that is sleep. But Pyxis lies awake, still unnerved from the nightmare she just had. She’s just about to try knocking herself out when a familiar hand strokes her arm and a warm voice says, “Don’t be afraid. You will rest well this night.” She smiles and let her eyes fall shut, the even breathing of her friends become her lullaby, and the soothing strokes of Death lure her towards oblivion. As she rests, Death reaches over and runs a finger over his stone to draw out the small drop of blood taken from her. Pyxis mutters something in her sleep but does not wake, and Death places the blood in a vial and whispers, “I’m sorry, but it was necessary.”

She mutters once more, “Leave Pooky alone.” Death chuckles and brushes some hair out of her face before stepping into a patch of moonlight and disappearing without a sound.

~*~

In her History of Magic class, Pyxis was doodling in her notebook when Professor Binns aid something that caught her attention. “In the last wizarding war Voldemort was not destroyed by mere force of will, the heroes of that war had to find six very important items before they could kill him.” Lifting her head, Pyxis dragged herself out of the stupor that came every time Binns started to talk and attempted to pay attention. “These were gathered from all across wizarding Britain and destroyed in order to weaken him; A locket, a ring, a diadem, a cup, a snake, and a notebook. Once all of these were destroyed, Lily Evans, James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black fought Voldemort in the forests surrounding Godric’s Hollow and ended his reign of terror.”

With her pen scratching furiously on her parchment, Pyxis writes down all of the components that Binns has mentioned in her notebook. The clock chimes and the students pack up their things to make ready for their next class, Pyxis slaps her notebook shut and stashes it in her book bag. Adrenaline beginning to fill her veins, she races out of the class room, through the halls, out the main doors, and dives into the alcove underneath the Whomping Willow. “Lumos.” The spell lights up the space and she pulls out her notebook and pen, scratching out the words: Notebook and Locket in the list that she’s written. 

Circling the rest she writes: Horcruxes? Then she pauses, tapping the pen against the side of her notebook, “Diadem, Cup, Ring, Snake… Not much to go off of, but its a start. I wonder if Harry’s found anything yet.” She pushes a stray piece of hair out of her face and bit her lip, “Diadem… Where have I heard of a Diadem before?” Tapping her notebook once with her wand she used a word search spell and the notebook opened to a page near the beginning. The notes she had taken were about the founding of Hogwarts, and more specifically about the founder Rowena Ravenclaw. 

In her notes Pyxis had written that Rowena Ravenclaw had originally come from the Fen country as an foreign minister’s daughter, once she had gotten to know old Britain however, she never left. It went on to talk about her early life and how she ended up coming to know the other founders, but what the spell had found was a small snippet Pyxis had written in the corner of the page, in her large and curly handwriting it said, “Ravenclaw heirloom was a Diadem, info probably not going to be on the exam.” Her eyes widened as something began to dawn on her, “If the Diadem belonged to Rowena…” Using the search spell once more she looked up Cup and Ring, and waited for the magic to settle. Both came up with a large amount of pages, so to narrow it down she tried, Founders, Ring and Cup. 

Two pages popped up and she flipped to them quickly. The first contained information on Helga Hufflepuff, like with Rowena, it detailed her early life and how she came to be a founder of Hogwarts. Also like Rowena, scribbled at the bottom of the page Pyxis had written that Helga had a prized cup that had been a family heirloom. When Pyxis flipped to the second page she found that it was about Salazar Slytherin, his passage actually had two items with it. The first was listed to be the Locket that Dumbledore had destroyed in the other world, the other was a ring that was passed down to his most recent heir, Tom Marvolo Riddle. 

She read up on the founders in her notes a bit more, but noticed that only three of the four founder’s items were used. Out of worry and fear Pyxis ran from her hiding spot and back into the castle, it was almost dinner time and a large amount of students were on their way to the Great Hall. When she reached the History of Magic classroom she found Professor Binns speaking with the Fat Friar, “You know Cuthbert, I do believe the students learned quite a bit from you today.” “Do you now Friar?” “I do indeed. Why, I was in the corner when young Miss Lupin began to scratch most furiously in her notebook. She seemed so enraptured by your lecture of the last war, the girl was writing so quickly her hand was a mere blur!” 

Binns snorted, “The young lady does have her past tied rather tightly round that particular time period, those seem to be the main times that she actually pays attention.” That made her feel a little bit guilty and she made a silent promise to pay attention more as she knocked on the classroom door, “Professor Binns?” Both ghosts looked over and the Fat Friar smiled, “Why Miss Lupin! What a pleasant surprise, we were just talking about you!” She gave the Friar a warm smile and said, “I hope nothing bad.” The Friar shook his head, “All good things my dear, all good things.” Professor Binns nodded, “My good Friar, I believe the young lady has an inquiry, if you would be so kind as to excuse us.” “Oh of course! Of course!” The Friar flew off through a wall and disappeared, Binns turned to Pyxis and said, “So tell me Miss Lupin, what in particular do you need to know?” 

She opened her notebook and said, “Well you mentioned a Locket, a Diadem, and a Cup; and I wrote down earlier this year that the founders of Hogwarts had such items as heirlooms. Are they connected in any way?” Binns raised his eyebrows, “I’m surprised you caught that Miss Lupin, yes actually. The facts are connected, Voldemort lusted for power, and so to make himself more terrifying, he defiled the remnants of Britain’s most powerful wizards. Do you understand?” She nodded, “Yes Professor Binns, if you have the time, I have one more question.” Binns floated up a bit, making ready to head to the Great Hall for dinner, “Ask away my dear.” 

Pyxis bit her lip, “… I… Well… Only three of the founder’s items were obtained by Voldemort, and its probably nothing, but I’m wondering if there was a seventh item. One maybe from Godric Gryffindor that no one knows about, is that possible?” Binns gave a comforting smile and shook his head, “My dear, Voldemort actually meant to gather a seventh item, however, thanks to your parents and god parents that was avoided. He was actually after the Sword of Gryffindor in the final years of the war, and for some strange reason, it was your god parents who had it. It was also the key item that ended everything.” Pyxis blinked, a bit shocked, “Voldemort was killed with a sword?” Binns nodded and she closed her notebook, “That’s… That’s a very—” “Human way to go?” She nods and Binns smiles, "I'm glad you understood that, after the items Voldemort had taken were recovered from him, that was all he was, an old, possibly frail, man." 

Pyxis nods, "Thank you professor, that clears up a lot actually. I'll head to dinner now." As she turns around, Binns stops her, "Miss Lupin?" She looks back and there's a very serious look on the ghost Professor's face, "Yes sir?" He floats slightly closer to her and glances at the ring on her finger, "Be careful child, even with all the help you receive, you are not immortal. Take care when your next time comes." Pyxis just stares at him, surprise and a little fear creeping into her face, Binns dismisses it and flies through the wall and into the hall. The last time a ghost knew what she did was back in second year, and when Pyxis went to ask Myrtle how she knew where to take her, the dead girl just brushed her off. Was that how it was going to be with Binns? Her stomach's growl halted her train of thought, cheeks turning a light pink, she mutters to herself, "Ok, let's eat and then think about this later." 

With a breath she stuffed her notebook into her book bag and walked out of the empty classroom.

~*~

It was nearing the end of the school year when she crossed.

Pyxis had taken to carrying the notebook around everywhere she went just in case her ring decided to whisk her away. She was making her way up the stairs to the Astronomy Tower to double check her charts and the large telescope they had there when the ring flashed.

She had been forced to stop walking, lest she trip and fall down the spiraling steps, when the light cleared there was no longer any sun in the sky. She squinted a bit as she made her way up, keeping one hand against the rail to guide her way. As she neared the top, she heard voice floating down from the room above. “Harry my boy we can’t always rely on your friend like we did last time. It was pure luck that she managed to stumble upon the locket, I highly doubt she knew fully what it was despite her claim.” Harry shook his head profusely as he said, “I trust her Professor, she’s helped so many times I’ve lost count. We can depend on her.” 

Tripping over the second to last step, she dropped her charts in a loud clatter, making both men turn in her direction. She gives a sheepish smile and says, “You know… its really impolite to talk about someone behind their back.” Harry only smiles and goes to help her clean up, “Why is it that you always seem to show up at the most convenient moments?” She shrugs as her charts disappear into her bag, despite them being twice the size of the old thing. Dumbledore’s eyes widened slightly, “Quite an interesting item you have there my dear.” Pyxis rooted through it to find the notebook, “Thank you professor, a good friend of mine made it for me.” When she found it she handed it to Harry, “This should have everything you need in it, I marked what need to look for.” 

Harry’s eyes widened at that, “You… you know what the Horcruxes are?” She nodded, “And we’re in luck, you’ve already destroyed two.” “You’re serious?!” She snorted, “No I’m Pyxis, you should know that by now.” He smacked her shoulder and she continued, “The notebook you stabbed back in second year was a Horcrux, and we destroyed the locket a while back, so you’ve only got to find the other four.” Harry smiled brightly and pulled her into a tight hug, “You are the most amazing person I know.” She blushes, “Nah, I’m pretty sure that title should belong to Draco, he puts up with you more than I do.” Harry rolls his eyes and turns to Dumbledore, “See Professor, we can always count on her.” Dumbledore nods and gives a kind smile, “I see I was wrong to doubt you my dear boy, now, lets see the information she has to give us.” 

As Harry went to handover the notebook, the sound of running footsteps echoed up the stairwell, the three turned quickly when they heard voices saying, “He’s this way! Quickly! Before they discover us here!” Dumbledore casted a wordless body bind hex at Harry and turned to Pyxis, “You both must hide, quickly now, take out his invisibility cloak and hide beneath itk do not move or make a sound. Do you understand?” She could see the fear in his eyes and nodded, pulling Harry to a corner of the room, she draped them both under the cover of the cloak handed to her by Dumbledore.

Bellatrix, Fenrir, and Rodolphus stormed into the Astronomy tower with their wands aimed at Dumbledore. Pyxis bit her lip to keep from saying anything, unholstering her own wand in case they came to notice her and Harry. “Look what we have here boys. The Great Dumbledore.” The Headmaster stepped around the telescope, “Mrs. Lestrange, its good to see you again. You as well Rodolphus.” Both people sneered at him and Fenrir let out a deep growl, “I take it this isn’t a social visit then?” “No, it is not.” From behind the three Death Eaters came a fourth, Severus Snape approached with all his normal dramatic flair and raised his wand towards Dumbledore. 

“Expelliarmus!” The wand in Dumbledore’s hand went flying and Severus caught it mid-air, Pyxis wanted to jump out and try to help, but one glance from Dumbledore and she stayed put. “Severus.” The Potions Professor looked towards Dumbledore, a neutral mask set firmly on his face, the Headmaster reached out towards him with both hands. One of them was unnaturally black and decayed, a small gust of wind blew through the room and brought the scent of rot towards Pyxis. She covered her nose with her hand and leaned back as far as she could without ruffling the cloak too much. 

“Please.” The two wizards shared a brief look before Severus said, “Avada Kedavra.” The spell was so bright Pyxis thought she was crossing again, the bright green light of the spell hit Dumbledore in the center of his chest and caused him to fall out the Tower window. Her teeth dug into the skin of her lip and drew blood, the wind carried that scent over to the Death Eaters and Fenrir picked it up, “There’s someone else here!” Without thinking she threw the cloak off of her, making sure to keep it covering Harry, and cast a stupefy in the Death Eater’s general direction. Jumping over the railing by the staircase she started to run as fast as she could, hoping they wouldn’t notice Harry still laying there. 

A spell hit the wall next to her and she ducked into the nearest hallway, every cell in her body screamed at her to run. Even the wolf, which normally slept when she was human, was up and afraid. More spells chased her down the corridors, purple, white, and one green all flashed past her as she raced to find an exit. “Expecto Patronum!” Her crow flew from the wand and flew back at the Death Eaters, hopefully distracting them for long enough that she could find another Professor. But Snape wasn’t fooled.

He ran straight past the crow and chased her all the way through the front doors, only stopping when he cast a tripping Jinx that nearly sent her crashing into a boulder. As Pyxis made to get up she came face to face with the tip of Snape’s wand, looking him in the eye she sees that the mask he wears is firm and the absinthe orbs reveal nothing. “I know he was going to die,” there’s the tiniest of cracks and she sees a flicker of realization run through him, in a voice no louder than a whisper he says, “Play dead.” He casts a stupefy just inches from her face and she falls back with a dull thud, the other Death Eaters rush past and tell Snape to hurry.

When she thought they were far enough away she cracked open an eye to find Bellatrix setting fire to Hagrid’s cabin. She pushed herself up off of the ground, not caring that the Death Eaters might come after her, “HAGRID!!!” There’s a frantic sound of barking coming from inside the cabin and Pyxis casts a Reducto at the door, Fang bursts out of the house in a blind Panic, and Hagrid follows close behind. She raises her wand once more and shouts, “AGUAMENTI!” The water jetted from the tip of her wand and immediately started to douse the fire, Pyxis kept casting the spell until she was sure that the fire was no longer a danger. 

Exhausted, she fell back to the ground and leaned on her hands, the large figure of Hagrid loomed over her and patted her on the shoulder. “S’alright dear, we’ll be fine. Did they hurt you?” She shakes her head and turns in the direction of the Death Eaters escape. Harry is over by the edge of the forest on his knees, head bent and sobs wracking through his body. She gets up, “You’re ok Hagrid?” Hagrid nods, “He needs ye more’n I do.” Pyxis nods and makes her way over to Harry, once she reaches him she places a hand on his shoulder, “Harry—” “You could have stopped them.” She stops for a moment, and then squeezes his shoulder, “I know, but Harry, did you see his hand?” 

Harry shakes his head, “Why didn’t you do anything.” She sits down next to him and strokes his back, “If I had, I’d be dead, and you’d be on your own right now.” He whirls around and shouts, “That doesn’t mean you should’ve just stood by and watched as he died!” She winced and stopped moving her arm, taking a deep breath she said, “I didn’t. I was going to help, but he told me not to, Harry if you could smell what I did when that breeze came in you would’ve known that he wouldn’t have lasted the night.” Harry’s eyes widened, “Wha—” “Harry his entire right arm was rotted away, if it hadn’t already the rot would have flooded into his veins and killed him before morning.” She moved and placed a hand on each shoulder, “Harry it was a mercy killing.” He just stared at her, green eyes that were once filled with anger were now filled with pain, he leans forward and rests his head against her shoulder.

Sobs wracking through his body, she holds him tight and lets him cry it out. In the sky above Hogwarts she Dark Mark shines a sickly green against the black of the night, she catches sight of a robed figure standing over the body at the base of the Astronomy tower. There are other figures running from the Great Hall, probably coming to see what happened, the figure by Dumbledore’s body waves a hand over him and white glow rises from him and into Death’s hands. For some reason, Pyxis remembers the Tale of the Three Brothers, and without meaning too she whispers, “And so Death claimed the first brother for his own.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for Reading!!! Kudos and Comments Appreciated!!!  
> Come find me on tumblr: bio-blegh.tumblr.com


	20. Measure for Measure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer after sixth year, but before seventh. Short little interlude for you guys. We're almost done.

Pyxis stood outside of the DVLA in a thin cardigan, her hair tied back in a french braid, and a magic cigarette in between her lips. A middle-aged woman sneers as she passes Pyxis by, her nose wrinkling as she makes an offended, “Hmmph,” as Pyxis puffs out a cloud of smoke towards the other woman. She takes another long drag and does her best to blow out a smoke ring to distract herself; today is a special day for her, and smoking seems to be the only way she can calm down. Remus pulls the cigarette out of his daughter’s mouth, puts it out, and tosses it in the nearest ashtray. “Stop offending the public, you probably did great.” Pyxis pouts and crosses her arms, “I don’t know, I was so nervous, when the instructor asked me to check my left turn single I turned on my right. Merlin knows what else I messed up.” 

Remus just chuckles and pats her head, “Pyxis you’ve been studying for this since your birthday, you probably passed with flying colors, turn signals be damned.” She snorts and Remus rolls his eyes, it was then that the doors to the building opened and a woman in a very posh looking dress suit peers out, “Pyxis Lupin?” Pyxis jumps up and pushes herself off the wall she was leaning on, nearly falling forward as she says, “That’s me!” The woman smiles and beckons for them to follow her inside.

They approach a desk near the test taking area of the building and the woman started rifling through the paperwork. “Alright, everything seems to be in order. I just need your signature here and here, and since you’re only seventeen, we need your parents signatures as well.” The two of them sign the dotted line, and Pyxis began shifting from foot to foot in a fit of nerves. The woman then hands Pyxis a small slip of paper and said, “Here you are Miss Lupin, this will be your temporary license until the real one arrives in the mail, when you drive make sure you always have this on you.” 

Blue eyes grow wide when she reads the writing on the paper, in a quiet voice she says, “I passed…” Remus beams brightly down at her and she holds the paper high in the air, “I PASSED!!!” The woman behind the desk smiles at Pyxis’s enthusiasm, holding back a laugh she says, “yes you did, now remember. Obey all the traffic laws, the pedestrians have the right of way, and run over a yank’s foot every now and again.” All three of them snicker at the last part and Pyxis thanks the lady profusely for helping them out.

As the two made their way out of the building the roar of a motorcycle echoes out across the parking lot. Sirius rides up in his famous Harley and removes his helmet with a rather dramatic hair flip, Pyxis snorts as he says, “So?” She smirks and says, “gimme the keys, I’m driving back to the shop.” Sirius smiles brightly and replies, “Oh no honey, you’re not ready for this bad boy yet, but if you ride in the side car, you might find something more your speed when we get back.” With her curiosity peaked, she gladly hopped into the side car and clips on her helmet and goggles. 

The three of them zoom through the crowded streets of London, the entire time Pyxis keeps her mouth clamped shut lest she stick her tongue out like a dog. So instead she lets out a loud whoop, startling several other motorists as Sirius turns tightly around the next bend. A little girl looking out the window of her car catches sight of Pyxis and Pyxis gives her a wink, the girl giggles and waves through her window. Pyxis grins and laughs like a madwoman, Remus looks down at her and says, “Have you changed from Werewolf to Banshee in just a few minutes?” She’s tempted to smack her father, but she’s rather keen on not crashing the bike so she keeps her hands to herself. 

When they arrive at Maruader’s Motorbikes, they pull into the garage and park only inches from the workbench. The sound of screeching tires and the smell of smoking rubber making Pyxis and Remus cringe a bit, “Dad, do we always have to park like that? Siriusly, we’re going to the crash into the back wall someday.” Sirius rolls his eyes, “While your use of my name is an admirable attempt at getting me to listen to your concern, it is in vain dear.” Pyxis sighs and pulls herself out of the sidecar, “Father please convince your husband that he may kill us someday with his lust for dramatics.” Remus smirked, “Darling daughter, I’m sorry to say that I have already tried and failed, and sadly it seems you have inherited his sense of dramatics from him.” 

Sirius smirks down at his daughter and says, “Resistance to it is futile.”

She huffs and crosses her arms, “Well I never.” Both men laugh and Sirius claps her on the shoulder, “Alright, do you want to see your surprise or what?” Pyxis perks up at that and nods happily, “Show me! Show me! Show me!” Remus shares a fond smile with Sirius and he covers her eyes with his hands, “Keep your eyes closed alright.” She does and tries not to fidget too much, the smell of oil gets sharper and there’s a bit of a squeaking noise as Sirius rolls something into the room. “Can I open my eyes yet?” She hears Sirius laugh, “Seventeen years old and you still are as impatient as you were when you were five.” 

Pyxis sticks her tongue out and she can taste the slight tinge of grease that’s filled the air, the kind her Dad uses whenever he’s just finished up polishing one of the Bikes he’s been working on. “Alright Pixie, take a look.” Remus removes his hands and she opens her eyes, in front of her stands a 1993 Ducati Monster in a sleek silver and black color. Her jaw drops to the floor and her eyes bulge out of their sockets, “Wha… How… This is expensive!” Remus laughs and Sirius rolls his eyes, “First she’s speechless and then she focuses on the price, looks like you inherited some of my traits as well.” 

She sputters and babbles for a bit, trying to get the right words out about how this is too much, and they should take it back. However her Dad raises a hand and stops her mid-gibberish, “Pixie relax, we didn’t buy it, its custom made.” Her sputtering grew worse, “How is that better?! These things cost a fortune! It probably costs as much as Uncle Reggie’s house!” Remus placed a hand on her shoulder and held her firm, “Pup please, your Dad is trying to talk, let him explain.” She makes a few more indignant noises, some of them actually bordering on coherent, but in the end she lets Sirius speak.

“We got it from a scrap yard. The thing had been in a pretty bad accident a few years back and well, your Father and I thought you could use something to keep yourself moving.” He took a step closer and placed a hand on her other shoulder, “You’re seventeen now, an adult in the wizarding world, by all rights you should have your entire future mapped out for yourself already. At least according to wizarding tradition, how does that go again.” There was a mischievous grin in her Dad’s eyes as Pyxis answers in the driest voice she can muster, “Betrothed to my cousin at sixteen, married just after school, produce the next line of Black hellspawn to do the same.” Remus snickers and she elbows him in the side, Sirius continues as his husband winces in pain, “And yet here you are. Seventeen, with a rather lovely boyfriend of your own choosing, an apprenticeship with a researcher of ancient curses and alchemy, lined up through your own hard work. And this thing was made from your Father’s hard work and mine; and now, as one last gift before you go off to conquer the world, its yours.”

~*~

The wind was whipping through her hair, the sound of the engine rumbling beneath her legs kept her blood pumping, the smell of fresh grass and petrichor nearly sending her reeling. But still she sped on, a star in the black of night, arcing across the open dirt road that led away from Hogsmeade. Her hair flew about her, the loose strands catching on each every gust of wind that blew against her bike. The headlight was like a beacon in the darkness, and now that she and her Dad had fixed it to work off of magic instead of gas and electricity, she could ride for forever. With a quick rev of the throttle the front of the bike jolts upwards, leaving only one wheel on the dirt track, and an adrenaline rush in her veins, Pyxis shouts, “Come on!” 

The motor roars high and loud into the empty night, with one more twist of the throttle the bike is airborne. Pyxis looped once, twice, three times before straightening out and flying straight through the clouds. 

The air bit at her skin and the damp clung to every inch of her clothing. She was extremely happy she had listened to her Father’s warning of, “Its chilly out there tonight, take a jacket, and a scarf.” Her goggles are nearly frosted over, the tips of her house scarf were soaked from every passing cloud, her breath coming out in thick white puffs. But still she climbed higher. 

Even with gloves charmed to keep the chill of Himalayas out, her fingers grew numb; even with the thickest leather jacket, and the fluffiest sweater, she found herself shivering. The world was cold and quiet in the air, the silence comforting against the backdrop hum of her bike. Breathing in another gust of frosty air, Pyxis lets go of the handles and spreads her arms wide, simply letting her bike take her where it would. She gazes up through goggled eyes and saw the stars as the sea, tracing her hand above her she swore she could almost feel the ripples she caused in the glassy sky. 

It was so still.

So endless.

She could fly forever and never move from one spot.

The stars overhead sparkled down at her, and she grins up at them, “One day.”

She straightens herself out and places her hands back on the handles, the chill has reached her palms now, and she knows that if she doesn’t land soon she’ll catch frostbite. Descending quickly, she brightens the headlight just a bit, so that any child looking out their window might think she’s a falling star. Smiling to herself she thinks, “Don’t worry, I’ll do my best to make your wishes come true.” She lands with grace on the road closest to the edge of the village, her tires bouncing slightly once they hit the ground. Pyxis drives up to her cottage and parks the bike inside the shed next to her Dad’s harley, when the door is locked she races inside for a cup of tea and heads straight to bed. 

In the forest just outside of the house, Death watches in silence, the souls he has gathered in his cloak whispering silently to him. Death relinquishes them one at a time, each bright light flying to the path Pyxis had unknowingly made. 

He has made her Hermes and she doesn't even know it. At least that's what he'd like to believe. 

He turns away and makes his way into the woody depths, muttering to himself, “One day child, one day indeed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for Reading!!! Kudos and Comments appreciated!!!  
> Come find me on tumblr: bio-blegh.tumblr.com


	21. Moments and Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm Back From the Dead!!! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, I've had major writers block, and nothing I wrote was good enough. But I finally got something that I liked, so here we go again. Lets Begin the ending shall we?

Pyxis’s feet padded through the underbrush, claws digging into the damp soil, ears flat against her head as she raced through the dead of the night. The world around her had been changing, warping, distorting, the moment she’d returned to Hogwarts. The shadows seemed to chase after her as she walked through the great stone halls, malicious laughter echoing up and down the corridors. The sound of heavy hoof beats brings her back to the present and she turns her head.

The centaur herd races alongside her, Firenze leading the group and watching her as they run. He opens his mouth to say something, but a scream only she can hear pierces through the night air and she faces front. Pushing her muscles harder, her paws dig deeper furrows into the black earth and she speeds ahead, Firenze calls out to her, telling her to stop. But the words are lost on her as she tries to escape the screams. The final passage of The Tales of Beedle the Bard is burned into her mind, the prophecy that governed not only her life, but those of the other world.

With a long howl she lets the words echo out into the unforgiving night:

 

At the end of their sixth winter,  
An heir of the moon will cross through Death’s pathway,  
And enter into a world that is not their own.

They shall guide one fated for death twice,  
To his final sacrifice and be given the Crosser’s stone.

In the hands of the Dragon rests the Stone’s elder brother,  
The Wand of old wood that will guard the saving light.  
In the hands of the Scarred will hide the youngest brother,  
The Cloak of Death that will end the final fight.

Glass and Stone shall be lock and key,  
And wolf shall meet the Snake and the Scarred.  
His pain shall be hers, and she will reveal all.

The Compass to guide the Scarred,  
The Scarred to empower the Dragon,  
The Dragon to guard the Compass.

A Stone to Guide,  
A Cloak to Fight,  
A Wand to Guard

Seven winters will pass,  
And the Compass will grow worn,  
Ending at the beginning.

A final battle waged, A final crossing made.  
The last this world will see of the Heir.  
And Death shall be waiting.  
Ever watching.

When the words faded from her she found herself at the edge of the Black Lake, looking out over the still waters she could see the soft glow coming from the towers of the Castle. From a distance she could almost make herself blind to what else she saw, she could pretend that nothing was wrong with the picture, that everything was how it had been. The worlds no longer merged before her, she did not see cackling professors teaching alongside her father, she didn’t see terrified students with injuries scuttling through the halls amongst the masses. She could pretend none of that was real, and that all she had to worry about this year was her NEWTs.

But life is rarely ever so kind.

A migraine hits her unexpectedly and her mind feels like its being ripped in half, she yelps in pain and squeezes her eyes shut. Whimpering and whining until the pain is nothing but a dull ache, her eyes open slowly and the world is a nightmare. Dementors surround the school, but at the same time the land around is empty, the castle is dark and looming, but the soft glow still remains. The lake is still, eerily still, nothing moves beneath its gentle waters, but it is alive and hungry all the same. The sky glitters overhead with the light of a million stars, and thunderclouds loom high overhead, waiting patiently before they break. She pads backwards a few steps before running into the woods once more. 

The forest remains the same, it is the only thing that ever does. 

The earth is still dark, still damp, the trees still hold leaves and branches high overhead, the animals that dwell within still run as she does. They don’t change, they don’t warp, and that is the only thing that has been keeping her sane.

The sun begins to peek over the horizon just as she returns to the shack, her legs shake from overexertion, tongue lolling out with every pant. She pads up the creaky staircase to her room and curls up in the bed, closing her eyes she hopes the dreams don’t come.

When she returns to her dorm later in the day she finds a letter resting on her bed next to a box. She sits down on the edge and opens the piece of parchment, sharp script graces the page in bold black ink. When her finger touches one of the words without meaning to, the words transform into an image of her and Blaise dancing to the waltz. The words are then spoken out from the mouth of the drawing.

I am here.

Just three words, three simple squiggles on a paper made up of minute scratches from a quill. And still they comfort her, warm her more than any amount of physical connection could, she smiles and tucks the letter away. She pulls the box into her lap and removes the lid, in the center is a pensieve and several vials with silvery memories. She pulls out one and lifts it to the light, the label marking it says “In The Snow.” She uncorks the bottle and pours it into the pensieve just before diving in herself.

She’s brought back to last December just before everyone left for the holidays. She, Harry, Draco, Hermione, and Blaise were all on their way to Hogsmeade when Hermione got the bright idea to start a snowball fight. And when she threw the first snowball, it turned into an all out war. The five of them had split up and taken up certain spots on either side of the path, Pyxis laughs as she watches her memory-self wave her wand and launch a horde of snowballs directly at Harry and Draco. 

Hermione is pegged down by Blaise and now its a stand off between him and her memory; casting a series of spells on the snow around her, Pyxis creates a facade of herself and several real snowballs that keep pelting themselves at Blaise. Her memory-self forms a giant snowball and tries to sneak around to throw it at Blaise. She watches herself and smiles as Blaise attempts to do the exact same thing, the two of them end up surprising one another and dropping the large balls of snows over their own heads before stumbling on top of one another. Pyxis watches her memory-self as she and Blaise lay in the snow, laughing and trying to shove more down each other’s coats. But at one moment they stop, their eyes lock for the tiniest second and Blaise smiles, her memory-self blushes a little bit as he rests his forehead against hers.

The memory ends and she’s brought back to reality, the memory shimmers brightly at the bottom of her pensieve making her smile fondy. Placing the sliver of white back into its bottle, she tucks the box under her bed and changes into her pajamas. Something may be coming, something may lead to an ending, but she plans on enjoying every small moment she has left.

~*~

Pyxis, Harry, and Draco sneak out underneath the invisibility cloak, Marauder’s map in hand, and sneak through the corridors to the Room of Requirement. When they arrive, they slip inside and remove the cloak, a large group of people already present grin brightly when they see them. “Glad to see you guys could make it.” The boys grin and glance at Pyxis, “Well seeing as miss Prefect over here had to give us the customary, ‘I have to go because I’m the responsible one,’ spheal we almost didn’t.” Pyxis rolled her eyes and crosses her arms, “Well I have to, I’m a prefect, if I didn’t at least pretend to take responsibility I couldn’t be doing my job.” The people around snicker and she sticks her tongue out at them, “Ok I’ve done my proper prefectering, now pass me the Firewhiskey, its Halloween and our last year and I for one would like to get a little buzzed.” 

Neville hands her a cup nearly filled to the brim and she takes a swig, the alcohol weaves a burning path as it makes its way down her throat. She shudders a bit once it hits her stomach, but smiles when it leaves her with a warm fuzzy feeling. The other houses titter and give knowing glances to one another, thinking that the smattering of Hufflepuffs amongst them won’t be able to hold their drink. Harry grins mischievously and says, “Why don’t we play a drinking game?” Everyone grows interested and Pyxis asks, “Which one?” 

Draco smirks, “Never Have I Ever.” 

They gather round in a circle and set up shot glasses in front of them, several bottles of Firewhiskey laid out in the center of them all. Harry picks up his glass first and says, “I’ll start, never have I ever gone skinny dipping in the Black Lake.” Several other Slytherins, and a few Ravenclaws took a sip, Pyxis fiddled with her glass, Draco was next, “Never have I ever snogged Pansy.” Blaise and several other boys took a swig, but to everyone’s surprise, so did Pyxis; as she finished her drink she said, “S’not my turn so I don’t owe you nothin’.” And so the game continued, people taking multiple swigs one after another, including the Hufflepuffs. 

 

The drinks were poured over and over again, some people getting sloshed straight off the bat, others managing to hold off for longer. The statements put out were between the inane and the raucous, some of them being as simple as, “Never Have I Ever stood on my head for longer for ten seconds.” Other going being so specific it was ludicrous, “Never Have I Ever caught the snitch because I needed to save my god brother from falling off his broom,” Pyxis and Harry both scowled at Draco as she took the drink. Near the end Pyxis was pleasantly buzzed, her head slightly foggy with alcohol, but she was still more coherent than the rest of her friends.

Harry and Draco were both passed out on the floor across from her, Hermione was giggling madly and leaning heavily on Luna Lovegood’s shoulder, meanwhile her Hufflepuff friends were all in similar states to her and looking on with quiet amusement. Pyxis sighs and stands up, Blaise wraps his arms around her shoulders and sags against her back, “How ya doin’ love??” She snorts an tries not to stumble with his weight, “I’m fine, you seem drunk though.” He snorts and nuzzles her neck, “might be,” he takes a whiff, “ya smell real good ya know that?” She bites her lip to keep from chuckling and turns her head, “do I? I could’ve sworn you said I smelled like wet dog earlier.” He pouts, “didn’ mean it. jus’ didn want no one to lookitchu.” 

His arms tighten slightly around her and he says, “my girlfren…” He slumps forward and she has to brace herself to keep them both from falling, a loud snore escapes his mouth and she rolls her eyes. Several other students are in similar positions, huffing out a breath she says, “I think its time we tried to get everyone to bed.” The other Hufflepuffs nod and each gathers a small group of drunken friends and began leading them into secret passage ways appearing out of nowhere. Pyxis took hold of her Slytherins and led them out the front door. Casting a simple disillusionment charm over them all and shuffling them back to the dungeons.

She reaches the entrance to the portrait without too much trouble, only running into Mrs. Norris once and effectively distracting her with a laser pointer while she ushered the Slytherins down the hall. When they reached the wall hiding the entrance, she pounded on it repeatedly until it opened, a sleepy-eyed fourth year looks out and asks, “Whatcha want?” She removes the boy’s disillusionment charm and asks for Millicent, the boy disappears for a bit before returning with the seventh year herself. When she sees the boys and Pyxis struggling to keep all three of them from keeling over she rolls her eyes and helps out. The five of them make it to the common room and dump the three drunken boys on the surrounding couches, “I can’t wait till tomorrow morning, the mermaids love doing wake up calls.” 

Pyxis looks up to see several merfolk sniggering and signing rapidly to Millicent, some of them waving their tridents in an excited manner. Pyxis raises an eyebrow as she turns back to the other girl, “Since when do merfolk know sign language?” Millicent signs something back up to merfolk and smirks at Pyxis, “since when do we tell each other house secrets?” Pyxis sighs, “Touche,” and turns to leave, giving a small wave before exiting through the wall.

~*~

Christmas came sooner than one would think, and with it came the annual trip to Godric’s Hollow. Harry’s family always hosted a grand christmas party that left Pyxis and her parents feeling stuffed and extremely spoiled afterwards. The Potter’s always insisted at having it in their home, insisted that all three families be present, and welcomed anyone else that chose to come along. This year it would be the Malfoys, the Lupins, the Potters, the Grangers and Blaise. 

The night of Christmas eve was well underway, about three mugs of eggnog had already been thrust at Pyxis, and she’d received many a look from all the adults whenever they saw her with Blaise. She made sure to keep a cool distance, so as not to incur the wrath of either of her parents. After she was about halfway through her fourth eggnog she decided to take a walk outside, the room was warm and she was a little buzzed. She thought the cool air would do her some good and stepped out into the night.

The back garden was lit up with the light of several floating lanterns, the flowers and shrubs lining the path taking on an ethereal glow. Pyxis blows out a breath just to watch the fog float out and away from her face, as she walks down a familiar path she catches sight of the graveyard just outside of the cottage. When she was younger she used to be terrified of just being near the place, something just felt off about it, but now that she was older she didn’t find anything wrong with it. She steps through the gate separating the two properties and continues her walk, the light doesn’t reach out as far and the headstones are in enshrouded in shadow. 

Its different than the last time she was in a graveyard, the snow gives a sense of serenity to everything, a quiet calm. The ring on her finger hums as she travels deeper and deeper into this small land of the dead. She reaches an headstone that bears no name and a familiar flash blinds her and she has to raise her arm to shield her eyes from the light as it reflects off of the freshly fallen snow. 

When it fades, the night is late, the headstones seem to have grown in number, and there are old etchings on the one in front of her: James Potter, Born 27 March 1960, Died 31 October 1981; Lily Potter, Born 30 January 1960, Died 31 October 1981

Her eyes widen slightly and she takes a step back and covers her mouth with her hand. A scream pierces through the air and as she turns around she sees the front door of one of the nearby cottages explode into a million wooden fragments. Two figures jump out just after the explosion, a third jumping out of a window just to the right of the doorway. The house itself erupts in a blaze of fire and Pyxis raises her arms to stave off the heat. The three race into the graveyard and bowl Pyxis over without meaning too. She and one other person fall into a snowbank, when the person pushes himself up she finds a familiar pair of green eyes looking down at her, “Pyxis?” “Harry?”

“HARRY!” Something huge and thin lunges from the side and Harry rolls the two of them behind the bank. The creature hits a rock hidden in the snow and hisses angrily, she’s pulled up quickly; Draco and Hermione run up behind them both and say, “We need to leave!” Harry turns, “Where?” Pyxis feels a familiar hum in her ring and she glances down at her hand, its glowing faintly, making her hand tremble. Without thinking she says, “Hold on to each other!” The other three look at her once and immediately latch onto her, the ring flashes just as the creature lunges once again.

When the light fades her eyes open slightly and the night is as it was, the moon hangs overhead in a cloudless sky. The four of them clutch each other desperately, still terrified that something may strike out of the darkness. When nothing does they loosen their grip, and only then does Pyxis realize what she’s done, “Oh Merlin…” She steps back from them and her eyes widen comically, “Oh Merlin. Oh Merlin, OH MERLIN!!!” She grabs her curls and starts to tug, “Oh Merlin! Is this even possible! How?! What?! I’ve never— Oh Merlin!” The others just kind of stare at her with confusion as she rambles to herself; the only time she stops is when the back door of the Potter’s cottage opens and someone steps outside.

“Pyxis? Are you out here?” She freezes up and turns slowly, the person in the doorway catches sight of her and the others in the darkness, the tip of their wand lights up and they step forward. “Pyxis? Seriously, your parents don’t like it when you go off on your own, better come in before they start the manhunt.” She looks from the man in the doorway and then to the others, all of them still slightly dazed from the tug through the worlds. Pyxis whips out her wand and aims it at Harry’s head, “Hold still.” He only blinks and she casts a small concealment charm on his forehead and turns back around, “Coming Uncle James!” She takes hold of the other three and leads them towards the house, James’s eyes widen slightly when she walks up with the others in tow.

She grins brightly up at him and says, "I wasn't alone." James's brow furrows and he looks behind him through the open doorway, "when did you guys go outside?" Hermione blinks and says, "A while ago." James’s brow furrows and he shakes his head, “I must be getting old, I could’ve sworn I saw you guys on the couch just a few minutes ago.” Pyxis shook her head, snow flying from the ends of her curls and onto the others, “Nope! We all went outside. Snowball fight.” James grins and steps aside to make room in the doorway, “Well come in then, warm up before you parents have my head for keeping you out in the cold.” Pyxis nods and led their little group inside, the sit on the couch and bunch together, Pyxis stays standing and whispers, “Just go along with it ok? I promise I’ll explain later.” Draco’s eyes narrow slightly as he says, “Why do I get the feeling that you’re going to do the opposite.” She goes to say something, but Lily comes up behind her and places her dainty hands on Pyxis’s shoulders, “Did you go outside again? Honestly Pixie I know you’re a werewolf, but even you can get sick.” 

Three pairs of eyes widen simultaneously and Pyxis uses every scrap of restraint she has not to laugh, she turns to Lily and says, “I’m ok Aunty, really. Its just kinda warm in here, plus the snow is really pretty outside, have you seen it?” Lily smacks Pyxis over the head and says, “don’t think you’re getting out of this young lady, and you three!” Harry, Draco, and Hermione all jumped, “What were you thinking going out there with her! Especially you Harry, I thought I taught you better.” Harry blinks and he starts stammering, “Wha- Me? Wha- S-sorry… Mum.” Lily nods once and flicks her wand at some mugs on the island, all four float over into their waiting hands and Lily says, “Alright, drink up all four of you, I don’t want to see a single drop of cocoa left in those mugs, do you hear me?” The four nodded and Lily went off to discuss something with Hermione’s mother. 

The other versions of Harry, Hermione, and Draco are nowhere in sight, a slight tinge of fear creeps up her spine and she prays they haven’t been sent to the world she just left. A voice speaks in her ear, “They sleep above you. They will not wake lest the others leave. Worry not young one.” The voice leaves and she exhales slowly, some of the tension in her shoulders letting up and allowing her to relax. She gazes at the three on the couch and gazes their reactions whilst sipping the drink in her hand. 

Harry is still slightly shell-shocked, Draco looks close to the point of fainting, but its Hermione who finally seems to latch onto something important, “You called her aunty.” Pyxis takes another sip of her drink and sits down across from them, “… Yes.” Draco catches on and looks at her, “You’re related to Harry here?” She’s about to speak when Sirius walks over and flops down next to her on the couch, “Did Lily already give you four the third degree or do I still get to do it?” Pyxis scowls at him and elbows his side, “Dad you were literally five feet away,” Sirius grins and ruffles her hair, “I’m just kidding love. Hey! Look at the time its almost midnight, fancy playing something for us?” Pyxis glances at the others, Draco was suddenly distracted by the appearance of Narcissa, and Harry was being harassed by James and Lily, Hermione was actually mingling with her own parents on the other side of the room. Nodding Pyxis said, “Sure, any preference?” Sirius smiled, “ Carol of the Bells”

She got up and looked around, “Dad the Potters don’t have a piano.” He and Remus smirked and aimed their wands at the dining table, the old piece of Oak transformed into a baby grand piano and she rolled her eyes, “Show offs.” She takes a seat at the keys and begins to play… 

Hark how the bells  
Sweet silver bells  
All seem to say  
Throw cares away

Christmas is here  
Bringing good cheer  
To young and old  
Meek and the bold

Her Parents joined in as backup and the song continues. The three Lupins unaware that the other families had halted in their conversations just listen to them sing.

Ding dong ding dong  
That is their song  
With joyful ring  
All caroling. (Oh! Oh! Ahh)

One seems to hear  
Words of good cheer  
From everywhere (From everywhere)  
Filling the air

Oh how they pound, (Oh how they pound)  
Raising the sound  
O'er hill and dale  
Telling their tale. (Telling their tale)

Gaily they ring  
While people sing  
Songs of good cheer  
Christmas is here

Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas, (Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas)  
Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas. (Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas)

On on they send  
On without end  
Their joyful tone  
To every home

Ah! Ah! Ah!

Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong, ding dong

La, da, da, da, da,  
La, da, da, da, da,  
La, da, da, da, da...

Hark how the bells, (Hark how the bells)  
Sweet silver bells  
All seem to say, (All seem to say)  
Throw cares away (We will throw cares away)

Christmas is here (Christmas is here)  
Bringing good cheer (Bringing cheer)  
To young and old (To the young and old)  
Meek and the bold

Oh how they pound, (Oh how they pound)  
Raising the sound  
O'er hill and dale  
Telling their tale (Telling their tale)

Gaily they ring  
While people sing  
Songs of good cheer  
Christmas is here

Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas  
(Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas)

Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas  
(Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas)

On on they send  
On without end  
Their joyful tone  
To every home

When the last note rang out Pyxis takes a breath and looks around, the adults are smiling warmly, her parents each have one hand on either of her shoulders. Harry, Draco, and Hermione are by their “parents” sides, each of them seemingly more relaxed than when she first saw them out in the snow. She wonders just how long they’d been fighting that creature, how long they’d gone without the simple comfort of their family. The clock strikes midnight and chimes twelve times, they all turn to stare at the mantlepiece. Without meaning too Pyxis echoes the notes on the transfigured piano and looks over at the three, their eyes hold a new sort of fire in them. A determination that seemed to be going out when she saw them in the graveyard, she wasn’t sure what it was for, but she hoped to Merlin it would help them.

With a whisper she says, “Merry Christmas Everyone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for Reading!! Kudos and Comments Appreciated!!  
> Come find me on tumblr: bio-blegh.tumblr.com


	22. Endings and Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lets End this shall we?

Things end in the same way they begin. With an old tune, and a new view.

Like the prophecy had foretold, time had worn the compass down. Pyxis could feel the weight of both worlds bearing down on her, sense the finality of everything, the flashes ended and the shadows began.

They were warped, mere glimpses out of the corners of her eye. Images, people, visions of things that were never there. A cracked wall. A wild curse. A frightened student. A man with a hawk nose that knew more than he was willing to share. Most of them lingered in the Great Hall, shadows clumping together en masse, be it out of fear or pressure. They never seemed to see her though and sometimes, if she was willing, she would pass through the clumps and feel nothing at all.

With the shadows came the dark. The lights dimmed, the laughter dulled, and all the joy that came wrapped in Hogwarts was slowly starting to be sucked away. With the dark and damp, came Dementors. None that the other students could see, oh no. These flickered in between the realms, a glimpse here, a moment there, but always waiting, always watching. Was this death’s eyes? Or were there other ways he would watch over his little messenger?

The day finally came, and she knew right away. The dark had grown, the dementors now more solid, the shadows growing ever larger. The doorway was opening too wide, and the worlds were leaking into one another. Her ring had aged a millennia in that short time. The band nothing but a thin strip of gold with edges like teeth on either side; the stone a crumbling mess, bits and pieces falling off more and more each day. 

It was worse than when she accidentally brought Harry, Draco, and Hermione over last Christmas. But though everything was spiraling out of control, she had been prepared. She’d left her note. She’d said silent goodbyes, giving her friends and family bright smiles and happy sounding “See you laters.” On the day of the last crossing, Pyxis took a deep breath and went without complaint.

The worlds were leaking into each other. 

There are millions of worlds, at least that’s what she had come to discover, and each lay close to one another, forbidden to touch, but paths were constantly made between them, connecting them. 

Others, so many others. Ghosts that existed in maybe a hundred universes, and then only in one. They had names, homes, friends, and family. Yet they all played to the puppet masters strings. And even then, Death was not their master. Death was yet another puppet to be tugged along, another cog in the midst of a grand machine of some higher deity. Yet Pyxis and the other puppets paid no mind, their minds were opened from the moment they were born. Is it truly puppetry if they were willing?

The third world was the biggest. The puppet master’s favorite. It controlled all the others, helped shape the worlds as they came into being. From there millions more were built, each founded on a piece, be it big or small, from the original. Some were joined at the hip, others were so far apart it was a wonder they even knew of each other’s existence, and then there were those bound by the crossings. Tiny strings in a bigger web that let people see what they needed, what they wanted; strings that changed one world but kept the others the same; strings that were so strong that they tore the worlds apart.

But that’s not what happened here.

And when Pyxis crosses for the final time, she doesn’t look back.

There was no flash, no change. Pyxis merely walked around one corner and emerged in another. The door to the Room of Requirement stands before her, she senses the change in the atmosphere of the school and realizes she’s not at home anymore. With a deep breath she straightens her back and steps inside.

Once the door slams shut behind her, the world is already crashing down around her, quite literally.

Towers of items stand tall around her, looming and teetering dangerously overhead, and in the distance, several towers were falling to the ground. Screams and angry shouts came from the same direction, drawing her wand she ran forward to investigate. 

Spells flew everywhere, the casters aiming wildly in the mild hopes of accidentally hitting their adversaries with the objects in the towers. When Pyxis rounded the corner she finds Harry, Draco, and Hermione fighting against two strange boys across the way. In one of the other boy’s hands was a strange piece of jewelry that glitters faintly in the low light.

The Diadem.

There’s an opening between the familiar faces and she wastes no time in casting a quick Expelliarmus at the boy holding the Horcrux. The Diadem goes flying and she Accio’s it before anyone else gets the chance, she silently thanks Merlin that her Seeker reflexes are still intact. The trio she’s come to know so well turns around, eyes wide and wary until they realize just who’s behind them. A smile lights up on Harry’s face and Hermione grins, “Pyxis!” She smirks, but stops the moment she sees the other two boys raise their wands, she aims her own and shouts, “REDUCTO!” It hits the nearest tower dead center, piles of junk and rubbish come toppling down making the two boys across from the trio jump back to avoid being hit. Draco and Harry grab Hermione and tug her back to keep themselves from being crushed, Pyxis runs over and casts a Protego just in case.

 

They look as if they’re going to yell at her, but a great roar is unleashed from behind the fallen pile. Fire in the shapes of animals and screaming people engulf the junk and rush towards them, from behind the smoldering flames, two large shadows can be seen racing away. The four of them step back, Pyxis shouts, “RUN,” and they do. 

They run between the seemingly endless towers of junk in the room, the magic fire cutting them off at every turn. They are surrounded on all sides so Pyxis goes to the base of the nearest tower and yells at them to start climbing. They reach out and grab onto any piece they can, using them for hand and footholds as they try to outpace the ever present flames at their feet. Despite using Aguamenti a multitude of times, the fire was not going out, the heat had spread all throughout the room, sweat slick hands gripping to the pile, an animalistic instinct for survival the main thing driving them onwards. Pyxis reaches the top of a large desk first, the next hand hold several feet up, the only way to reach it is if one person gives the others a boost. With no hesitation she meshes her hands together and the moment Harry pulls himself up she says, “Don’t argue, don’t say anything, just climb.” 

He shakes his head, his mouth opening to tell her that she should be the one climbing, and she lets out a growl, “What the fuck did I just say.” His mouth clamps shut and he places one foot in her hands to push himself up, as he continues climbing Hermione follows shortly after, not even stopping when she sees Pyxis acting as the boost, she knows better. When Draco sees her, he stops and Pyxis rolls her eyes, “I won’t throw you into the fire, now hurry up it’s getting closer.” He doesn’t smile, instead he says, “How will you get up?” She blinks, the fire roars and the two of them jump, the ring in her hand digging into the skin of her finger. Its only a few inches from the base of the desk, she looks at Draco, “No time, quick just climb.” 

Draco bites his lip but does as she says, he places his foot on her meshed hands and pushes himself upward.

The fire is too close.

The heat is too much.

The wood of the desk gives and the desk begins to break away from the pile.

Draco doesn’t realize what’s happening and continues to pull himself up, Pyxis feels her feet begin to fall out from under her. Using whatever strength she can, she braces against the tabletop and pushes Draco’s foot up the rest of the way. He cries out in surprise (Not pain. Dear Merlin, please not pain) and manages to grab hold of some kind of bar that juts out of the pile. He holds on for dear life and turns to glare down at her, “What were you thin—” his eyes widen in horror when he sees her fall. Time slows down as the tendrils of flame lick up at her back and the heat sears through her clothing. A voice at the top of the pile screams, “PYXIS!!!!” 

The fire roars behind her and the wood of the desk is swallowed, and in a few more moments, so is she.  
~*~

Blaise Zabini saunters into the room he shares with Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, and Theodore Nott. He thanks Merlin for the fact that the room is empty, throws his bag to the side, and flops down onto his bunk. As he stretches himself out on the bed he hears something, off, when his book bag hits the floor; it sounds… heavier for some reason.

He gets up and reaches for it, opening the flap he pulls out everything individually, wand at the ready in case someone is pulling a prank on him. Ink wells, loose parchment, school books, chocolate frogs (when did those get in there?) And then a notebook. One he hasn’t seen before.

Its blue, the edges decorated with a beautiful silver vine design, the center emblazoned with an image of a crescent moon and a wolf standing at its tip, howling at a sky decorated with constellations. Confused, he opens to the first page, in an quipped but elegant script, a loose note has been written for him. For some reason he thinks of a pair of calloused hands covered in small scratches and scars writing with a quick elegance. The temptation to just chuck the note out is strong, but his curiosity is stronger.

“You’re probably confused as to why this is in you backpack.”

“You’re probably thinking this is some kind of prank played on you by your dorm mates.”

“And I honestly don’t blame you, Harry and Draco have gotten really good at pranking these past few years.”

“But this isn’t one of them. They’re good, but they’d retch before trying something like this.”

Blaise’s brow furrowed, but he kept reading. A faint laugh echoes through his mind, the kind that’s soft and nostalgic, one that spreads a warmth through his chest that he can’t explain.

“I’m going somewhere. Somewhere I’ve always gone. This book should explain it a bit. You were the only one I could talk to about it, maybe it’ll jog something.”

“However, unlike before… I may not be coming back.”

His heart clenches in his chest, and he felt himself grip the note tighter (what was happening to him?) In the back of his mind he could hear something begging the note to not be true.

“We talked about this. For hours and hours. You said you didn’t want me going anywhere, said that some destinies could be ignored. I said this one couldn’t. You said that I could choose not to go. I could just ignore it all and continue on with my life. The thing is, I don’t really have a choice.”

“So… I’m not asking you to wait. I’m not asking you to carry a torch for the day when I might return like some prodigal lover. I care about you too much to let myself hold you back from happiness. I… I just want you to know something.”

“If you don’t want to know. That’s ok. Forget about me. You said you would never do that, not even when you couldn’t remember me. You’re sweet like that.”  “If you don’t want to know, place this book under the Willow. Just chuck it underneath the roots. Let it rest there for some adventurous kid in the future to find it.”

“But if you do want to hold onto this. Just remember these words. They are the most comforting thing I have.”

“I am here.”

“The book can age and turn to dust. The pictures may burn or tear. But the words will remain.”

“Echoes and Whispers of times gone by.”

“My name is Pyxis. I am here. I was here. And I may be again.”

Without realizing it, Blaise had begun to cry. Tears fell onto pieces of the parchment, smearing the ink slightly; he gasps and hurriedly wipes his eyes. He was crying. Why was he crying? His lungs felt like all the air was being sucked out of them, his hands clinging tightly to the edges of the parchment. He didn’t know this girl. He didn’t know this, “pyxis,” what should it matter whether or not she was here? He should do as the note advised, chuck the book under the Willow, just forget, let it all go…

But here he was, sobbing and clutching the book tightly to his chest, trying to staunch the pain where his heart used to be. 

The images that are called forth are gone just as quick. In these glimpses he sees a girl with hair the color of copper and eyes as blue as the sky; he sees her smile like starlight and laughter like the melody to an everlasting song. He sees her race on a broom, run through the woods, and dance like no one’s watching. He hear’s the Viennese Waltz and her feet move seamlessly to its rhythm. He remembers warm lips meeting his in the cold of the snow. He feels how tightly she clings to him when she was crying about the death that never happened. He remembers the wolf. Fur the color of snow and stars. Thundering paws flying through the underbrush as a howl breaks the silence of the night. He sees the contrasting lines of black against her tan skin as she stands short and proud in her new bathing suit. He traces the raised bits of skin that are her many scars, he kisses the one on the juncture at her shoulder and neck.

And he sobs when he remembers the girl he loved. And the girl that never was. 

~*~

Her eyes fly open and she sits up quickly, inhaling a large gulp of clean air. There is no fire, there are no heaping piles of junk, there is just her, a well furnished room, and a door leading out. One hand is clutching her chest, the heat from the fireplace making her want to crawl away and hide in a corner. She takes deep breaths and lowers her head, squeezing her eyes shut she tries to peel away the sensation of the flames that tried to devour her, shut out the screams and shouts from the fire. 

As if to aid her, a voice says, “Quite a miracle that you survived isn’t it?” She looks up to find the portrait of Professor Dumbledore smiling down warmly at her, she lets out a huff, “Just lucky I guess.” The portrait’s eyes gain a familiar twinkle as he says, “Is that what it is then?” She gets up and dusts herself off, bits of ash crumble away and turn to dust as she walks up to the frame, “I’m still in the Room of Requirement right? Not limbo or whatever?” Dumbledore nods, “You needed a safe place, the room reacted to that and moved you. Quite extraordinarily I might add, considering that there were others with you in the room.” She runs a hand through her head and let out a breath, the ring glints up at her, her finger bleeding slightly from where its cut her. “Almost like it was magic.” Dumbledore lets out a soft chuckle, “Go on dear. They need you. Time to get back out there.” 

She nods solemnly, “Professor Dumbledore?” The Portrait cocks his head to the side, “yes dear?” She bites her lip, “If… if I died. Here. Would they remember me?” Dumbledore got up and made to leave his frame, “My dear girl. They would never forget.” He exits his frame and she takes his words to heart, she makes her way to the door and just as she opens it she whispers, “I am here.” 

~*~

Harry Potter was making his way down the halls of the castle, no particular destination in mind, when he found himself outside the doors of the Hufflepuff Common Room. The old oaken casks stacked neatly on top of one another, his feet lead him to the second cask over and he stops himself only seconds before knocking on the door.

What was he doing here? Was he meeting someone here?

The cask swings open and a boy crawls out, he’s taller than Harry by a couple inches, slightly lanky, but strong. He dusts himself off and catches sight of Harry just before he turns to leave, “Potter? Harry Potter?” Harry blinks, “That’s me.” The boy raises an eyebrow, “Huh, funny seeing you here. You looking for someone?” Harry glances at the cask, the tunnel leading into it lit with a soft glow; there was someone that always came after right? Someone doing something or other for someone else. But no one came. He shook his head once, “No. No, I was just… I was just wandering I guess.” The other boy shrugged, “Well don’t wander too late, its almost curfew.” 

The words echoed strangely, like someone else had said them before this boy. There should be something more to those words, a sly smile, a knowing look, a laugh… “Potter?” Harry shakes his head once more and looks back at the boy, “Sorry, dozed off a bit there. Were you saying something?” The boy shook his head, “Nah, you just had this funny look on your face there, well, I’ll see you around.” With that the taller boy walked off and the barrel closed behind him. 

As Harry watched him go, he notices something scratched onto the side of the other barrels. He kneels down to get a closer look, the initials PDL have been etched next to a bunch of others. Next to each initial was a drawing or symbol of some sort, next to the initials of SB there was a spark, next to NL and HA were different kinds of plants. But the image next to PDL was a little strange, it was a circle with three connected dots in the center, making it look like a numberless clock. 

He felt a pang of sadness go through him as his fingers brushed over the image, it felt like loss.

Harry steps back from the initials and bites his lip, the name stirred something, some vague memory that didn’t quite make sense. He could imagine those initials laughing. He could see their kind smile. He thinks he grew up with them, he thinks they saved him, he thinks that they was powerful in her own tiny way. He remembers how fast they were on their broom. He remembers how bright and happy they were whenever they were with their friends and their family. He thinks of them as the wolf and her as the girl, how similar, and how different she was. He remembers late nights studying and eating as many sweets as they wanted. He remembers their time as toddlers, running through the fields just behind her home. 

He remembers the moment he fell from the broomstick as he reached for the snitch.

He remembers how close she had been to winning their little game.

He remembers how she gave it up to save him.

He remembers how she gave up almost everything important so that he could have a moment in the sun.

He bites his lip and clenches his hands into fists. He remembers a girl who was first to make sure that others were happy, and who was last when they were given something. He remembers the girl that told him to go and get what he wanted, even when it seemed impossible. He remembers the girl that turned his darkest days into ones filled light and laughter. He remembers the girl that was his sister in everything but blood. He remembers his god sister, and how he may be the only one that does.

~*~

Draco Malfoy sits in the Library with an Arithmancy book on one side and a Charms book on the other. As he writes down extensive notes on either subject he hears a faint voice say, “I know you’ve found hundreds of connections between things, but I’m pretty sure there’s no correlation whatsoever between ginger root and the number twelve when it comes to enchantment circles.” He turns to answer with a quick quip, but no one stands behind him; in fact, there’s no one else in the library. He blinks once and turns back to his notes, and shakes his head, he’s been working too hard. He huffs and looks to his potions text to continue his notes, when he realizes he really had written a random correlation, he vanishes the ink and begins that set of notes anew.

As he continues to write, more little snippets of conversation come back to him. “Have you been eating Draco?” “ You stayed up all night again didn’t you?” “Draco stop trying to bribe me, I’m not giving you the answers to the the Charms test!” “Draco… Draco if you don’t stop studying this moment and come to dinner I drag you there myself. You don’t need to prove anything to anyone, and if you say otherwise I will find that person and hex their lips shut.” 

The last one makes him stop writing. The voice was kind, it understood his pain, it understood a lot about him. “Don’t listen to them Draco, they don’t know you.” “Draco listen to me ok, you aren’t your father, you aren’t even your mother, you’re you!” “DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING!!!” “YOU FUCKING TWAT YOU COULD’VE DIED! I’VE TOLD YOU NOT TO GO NEAR THE WILLOW WITHOUT ME!” 

He lets out a sad chuckle, thinking of how furious the voice would be whenever they would catch him doing something dangerous. At least when she wasn’t there to witness it. He thinks of all the witty banter he’d shared over the years. Sarcastic quips shot out in the middle of nowhere that left him both slightly humiliated and amused. The often wise notions she’d have that didn’t quite fit with her youthful nature. The terrified whispers she sometimes shared with him when he was over at her place and she’d just had a nightmare.

Words were powerful with her, they could build you up and just as easily tear you down. But more often then not she used them gently, a guide, a compass for when gets lost in the dark. 

Compass.

That was an old joke they’d tossed between them as kids. The constellations they were named for were far from each other, the Compass always supposed to remain behind the Dragon. The Compass was supposed to guide, while the Dragon was meant to guard, roles they seemed to have fit into so well. She was always the one to look out for the others, always the one to take the blame when they were caught, always the one making sure that they were happy. He sets his quill down to wipe at his eyes. When did he start crying? The last Blacks in all of the Wizarding World, the last stars that had yet to go out in and fade away into the endless night. 

Or had one already been lost?

The tears fall even faster now as he remembers more and more. Words of kindness, words of caring, words of wisdom, words to make you laugh, words to humble you. So many words, and none were ever kept hidden. She spoke what she meant, even if she was sarcastic about it; there were words with hidden meanings, ones that would give her a haunted look, or one of longing. But it would vanish into the void the next time she opened her mouth.

The last time he spoke to her, her words were quiet, she stood near the Willow and asked him, “Hey Draco?” He looked up, “If I were to disappear… would you take care of everyone for me?” He’d snorted at the time, “You’re not planning on eloping with Zabini are you? I think you’d kill your Dad if you cheated him out of that wedding.” She’d blushed and smiled sadly, “No, nothing like that. I was… I was just thinking…” She’d bit her lip, hands fiddling with the hem of her uniform, “… you know what? Forget it, its silly.” Her smile had cracks though, so he did what he could, even if he didn’t understand, “So hypothetically, if you were to somehow vanish off the face of the earth through some means higher than magic. And if for some reason you do not fight tooth and nail to come back and stop us from doing whatever ‘Stupid Antics,’ as you love to call them, we come up with. Then yes, I will look after Harry, Zabini, Hermione, and your little Hufflepuffs.” 

She had grinned at that and wrapped her arms around him, the hug seeming to be tighter than normal, “Thanks Dray.” He grimaced, “WOMAN! My name is not ‘DRAY,’ that word itself is not distinguished enough to ever be spoken. My name is Draco! Dray-co! If you ever disparage my name in such a manner again, I shall disown you!” She had laughed and said, “Alright, alright… Dray!” She’d run off towards the castle in an attempt to get away, but Draco was quicker, one tripping jinx later and they were tussling on the grass, laughing as the day wore old. 

His head rests in his hands, heels of his palms doing everything to staunch the flow of his tears. He remembers his promise. He remembers the words that were spoken. He remembers his kind cousin that was so afraid to say them.

~*~

 

Pyxis walks through the empty halls of the castle, spell marks mar the walls, bits of rubble litter the floor, and every now and then… she finds a body. 

The silence of it all leaves her unnerved. The emptiness making chills creep up her spine. 

The smells in the air are terrifyingly familiar. Awakening an old nightmare that had been buried for years in the depths of her mind. 

Fear, pain, death, dark magic. Every moment or so a wail pierces through the air, keeping Pyxis on her toes and her wand at the ready. 

The day has aged since she had last been here, early morning light breaks through the cracks and holes in the castle wall. Its so terribly familiar, and so horrifyingly different.

Where there was grass and trees, there is rubble and smoke. Where there were animals that ran free despite the danger, there are people trapped in walls of their own construction. Where there was darkness and hidden things, the is light so bright it is painful. Where she was once small and brave, she is now big and scared. And where there was a stranger that was alive and well… there was only a friend that was cold and dead.

She stands underneath the archway of the school, the crowd in front of her is thick and somber, the crowd across from her standing in a small but dark group. Just behind the Death Eaters, the Forbidden Forest looms ominously, trees standing like barren sentinels, behind their dark trunks Pyxis knows a white wolf pup is trying to find her parents. While in the Castle, that same pup, older and grown, waits for the ending to begin. 

There are words spoken. The Dark Lord is trying to entice the last defense Hogwarts has into joining him and bestowing his “mercy” upon them. A few people listen and cross no man’s land, afraid of dying, afraid of losing, afraid of being in a world where everyone was against them.

She smirks to herself at the irony. Her hand moving to the scar on her neck.

Then there is a miracle.

A body thought to be dead rises once again, he wields another wand and challenges his foe for the final time. Pyxis makes her way through the crowd, a ghost amongst the living, and walks to Harry’s side; she fires the first spell, Harry turns his head, shocked at her audacity and the fact that she’s alive. But once one spell is fired, others are soon to follow.

The grounds in front of the castle turns into a battlefield once more. Spells, curses, hexes, jinxes, and every other manner of spell work that one could know are flying in jets every color of the rainbow. Every now and again there is a flash of green and black shadow races just behind it, whenever the Killing Curse gets a bit too close she can see the shadow in detail. 

Death is as calm and cool as ever, he’s sad though, the pain on his face growing worse when he must gather a student into his embrace. Pyxis grows distracted when she sees one student, Creevey she thinks his name was, dive in front of Professor McGonagall to keep her from being hit. She hears someone cast a curse from behind her, and she knows she’s too close to avoid it; but just as she braces herself, someone grabs her from behind and pulls her to safety. 

Draco holds her close and casts a Crucio at Greyback, missing him by a hair and tugging Pyxis along as he makes his way through the fight towards Harry. “What in the name of Merlin are you doing!” They see Rabastan and Rodolfus Lestrange try to get the jump on them and Draco fires off two Stupefy’s so powerful the men are thrown back a couple feet, “Do you want to get killed?! We’re in a Bloody War!” The two come face to face with Greyback once more. Only this time he’s not alone Lucius Malfoy stands beside him, Draco stills for a moment, his grip on her shirt tightening at the sight of his father. She can feel the reluctance from both of them, so she pulls away from his grip and says, “Watch my back.” 

Two children.

Two Predecessors.

Two very different outcomes.

The duel is short, if one can even call it that. Draco attempts to fight his father, in terms of spell casting Lucius was clearly superior, but there was reluctance in his tactics that Draco shoved away. The two fought with the finesse and determination they were brought up with; curse, block, counter-curse, repeat. So the dance went on. With Fenrir, the battle was physical; each attack made with fists and claws instead of spells and incantations. Fenrir was wild and arrogant, attacking blindly at every chance he got; Pyxis was agile and careful, striking at the important points, at opportune moments.

Lucius yields and vanishes into the battle once more.

Greyback dies when a rogue flash of green hits him in the chest.

She freezes when she sees Greyback fall. His body hits the ground with a resounding thud, glazed blue eyes stare up at the sky, a feral smile frozen on his lips. The hand holding her wand is shaking, the ring digging into the soft flesh of her fingers. Death floats forward and takes the soul that rises out of the shell, for the first time she gets to see who her father was.

A young man stands tall, a light scruff of a beard dusting his jaw line, his hair is a mess of dark copper. When he looks at her, he fixes on the bite mark on her neck, its old, faint, but for some reason it burns. Shame clouds his face and he steps back, a whisper meets her ears, “I’m sorry.” Death places one bony hand on the soul’s shoulder, and the two vanish into thin air. Its the first time she’s seen a soul this close. The shades from fourth year don’t even compare.

And in that moment.

There is no war.

There are no screams.

There is just a girl, who watched the man who sired her die.

Then it all came rushing back.

Draco barrels into her and the two of them fall to the ground, another green flash sails over head, barely missing them both. “What the bloody fuck are you thinking! Wake up! This is no time to freeze up!” He drags her through the rest of the battlefield, screaming and yelling at her every time they are nearly hit because she wasn’t paying enough attention.

When they finally find Harry he’s fighting against Voldemort, a jet of red connected to a jet of green, the center of the streams blowing out ripples every other minute. A bubble of magic has built up around the two, and its only a matter of time until it bursts, destroying everything to the outside of it. Draco and Pyxis breach the bubble, and with a bit of luck they manage to not shatter, Harry catches sight of them, green eyes widen slightly before he’s shouting, “What do I do?!” Pyxis and Draco move to either side of Harry and she says, “let go and duck!” He doesn’t hesitate and the three of them hit the ground, the killing curse bursts forward and hits the ground behind them. 

Draco thinks fast and casts an Expelliarmus, it catches Voldemort off guard and Draco catches it as he stands. Pyxis sees Harry has the Invisibility Cloak with, how the bloody hell it seems to be hiding in his pocket she’ll never know, but she realizes that all the pieces are in place. “Harry get under the cloak and move.” He stares at her, “What?! I’m not leaving either of you!” She pulls him away as a stray spell attempts to hit them, again. They stand up and she moves to help Draco in his duel, whispering, “I’m not telling you to run. I’m telling you to move.” 

It takes him a minute, but then understanding hits him and he hides underneath the cloak. Draco is using the Elder wand to duel Voldemort, and if she’s honest, she thinks he’s never fought better. The spells he casts are accurate and powerful, not once does he falter, not once does his fear hinder his performance; when she joins him, its almost too much. She takes the offensive, the two of them only having to glance at one another before knowing what spells to cast.

They work in tandem, a block, a curse, a block, a hex, a distraction, a jinx. Seemingly out of nowhere, Harry emerges out from underneath his cloak and she sees him aiming his wand. A hex catches Voldemort in the back and the Dark Lord buckles. A snake makes an appearance near Draco and Pyxis fires a Killing Curse, the body nothing more than ash in moments, the Horcrux inside it screams in its final moments. 

She turns to Harry, Draco blocking another curse flying her way and she shouts, “NOW HARRY!” A flash of green leaves Harry’s wand, his incantation muffled by another scream, it hits Voldemort in the center of his back. 

Pyxis sees Voldemort tense.

Sees the slightest bit of pain cross his face.

Sees as his body hits the ground with a thud.

Watches as Death gathers the tiniest sliver of a soul, and disappear.

Its over, its finally done.

She also sees Bartemius Crouch creeping up behind Harry.

There isn’t enough time to help Harry and avoid any oncoming spells. There isn’t enough time to simply cry out and warn him. 

This is the last this world will see of the Heir.

She runs in an attempt to get closer to Harry. Darting out from behind a shield Draco had placed around them, she grits her teeth and casts a spell under her breath. As the flash of green hits Crouch’s chest, another flies towards her from the fray. Its all achingly familiar from her years of crossing.

Someone is screaming her name.

She is unable to do anything to protect herself.

Magic is thick through the air.

And she knows that this is where she will die.

Only this time its different.

There is no blindly brave eleven year old coming to burn away the monster. There is no basilisk fang that can pierce through the shade. There is no patronus that can shine bright enough to chase away the dark. No stroke of luck or Portkey. No gentle voice singing her to sleep. No traitorous Professor to convince. And this time Voldemort isn’t the one going to kill her. Differences make everything around her so blindingly clear.

The early morning light.

The screams and wails of the others fighting around her.

The twin looks of shock from Harry and Draco.

Her hand moving slightly, as if that would be any defense.

The sudden black that consumes her the moment the curse hits.

~*~

*One Month Later*

Pyxis closes the lid of her trunk and opens the window to her room, “NASHIRA GET YOU’RE FLUFFY BUTT IN HERE OR WE’RE LEAVING WITHOUT YOU!” There’s a hoot and the little elf owl flies in just above Pyxis’s head, landing perfectly inside the cage set atop her owner’s four poster. The little bird ruffles her feathers and tucks her head under her wing, Pyxis places her hands on her hips, “You’ve been sleeping in the Owlery for the past three days. Why are you sleeping again!” There’s a small indignant hoot and Pyxis responds, “Oh yes you’re so tired. I’m sure resting in a lofty, warm, nook at one of the tallest points of the castle is very tiring.” 

The trapdoor opens up and Susan’s head pops up through the hole, “Ready to go?” Pyxis nods and closes the door to Nashira’s cage, Susan helps carry down the cage as they make their way through the Common Room. When they reach the Great Hall, all the students are smiling brightly, several of the younger ones chattering loudly about their plans for the summer. Others discussing how they’ll be able to complete their summer assignments while in Muggle neighborhoods. And then there are the groups who look reluctant to go, giving the aged windows and weathered stones longing looks; and they haven’t even stepped onto the path yet. 

As Pyxis begins her own walk down the dirt path, she thinks of all the times she’s made this trek with the students behind her. Stones skittered to the side as frantic feet run atop it, grass along the side has been trampled and regrown a million times as students pace and stomp. Dirt tracks are furrowed in several paces from dragging suitcases, unexplained pot holes from fights and rogue spells, nothing too drastic though. 

She makes it to the middle of the path, the others are meant to meet her here, and she catches sight of something in the ground. 

A small dandelion is growing up from the gravel, its so small and fragile, but if its growing here it has to be tough. She runs one hand over the other, but where the ring used rest there is now only a band of untanned skin. 

When Voldemort had cast the Killing Curse after she had killed Crouch, her hand had moved unconsciously to grip the locket around her neck. When it did, the curse hit her hand instead of her chest, more specifically, it hit the ring. The blackness that had come afterwards was one last gift. The ring had shattered, there was nothing tethering her to that world so she had been flung back to her own. She found herself on the path leading to Hogwarts, the sun was setting and the few students that had been outside were making their way back in to head to dinner. Pyxis had stood there for a good half-hour trying to figure out what in Merlin’s name had actually happened. The dandelion had stood by her side the entire time.

“Pyxie!” She’s jolted out of her thoughts as Hermione walks up, “Daydreaming again? Its a wonder you don’t just vanish into them.” Pyxis snorts once and pulls on Hermione’s hair playfully, “Hush you. Where are the boys?” Hermione waves her hand non-chalantly, “Your cousin is making sure his array of beauty products is properly packed. Your god brother has been wrangled into helping. Your boyfriend got out of it on the pretense that he had to grab his cat from somewhere in the castle.” Pyxis raises an eyebrow, “Blaise doesn’t have a cat.” There’s a snap and someone behind them says, “Exactly.” 

The two girls turn, Susan having left a while ago to go bug Hannah and Neville, Blaise saunters up to them and grins. Pyxis rolls her eyes and rests one hand on her hip, “You don’t even like cats.” He wraps an arm around her shoulders and says, “You would know.” She elbows him in the side just as Harry and Draco walk up with their own trunks, “Sorry we’re late, Draco needed to make sure all of his ‘products’ were in alphabetical order. And then by color. Then potency. Then by order of which he uses them-” Draco swats the top of Harry’s head and glares at the others when they start snickering, “My health is very important to me I’ll have you know, these potions aid in keeping me up to par.” Blaise smirks, “Yes, I’m sure fifty different kinds of hair care potions are definitely keeping you healthy.” Draco’s cheeks pink slightly and he casts a stinging hex, Blaise yelps and everyone laughs. 

Pyxis steps between them, “Alright, alright bugger off, come on. If we don’t get walking all of you will miss the train, and I don’t my parents fancy harboring all of you for the weekend.” They all nod and make to continue walking, Blaise slips his hand in Pyxis’s, fingers twitch slightly over the place where her ring used to be. He frowns a bit, “Its weird isn’t it. Not having the ring anymore.” She nods and squeezes his hand as they walk, “Yeah, I kind of miss it, despite everything it put me through.” Blaise gives her a small smile and kisses her forehead, “guess I’ll have to replace it then.” The whisper startles her a bit and Blaise gives her a smirk before letting go of her hand to jog ahead. She stands frozen for a few moments, quite confused about what just happened, “Wha… Blaise… Blaise, what? What did you mean? Blaise Zabini you get back here and explain yourself!” There’s a laugh that’s carried on the wind, and as she runs to catch up to him she doesn’t look back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER WAS SOOOOO LONG!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ MY SHIT WRITING!!! ITS OVER ITS FINALLY DONE, ALMOST TWO HUNDRED PAGES, MONTHS OF PLANNING AND GROANING. HOURS UPON HOURS OF TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE HELL I'M WRITING!!! AND ITS FINISHED!!! AND PEOPLE LIKE IT!!! SO THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU FOR EVEN GLANCING AT THIS!!! THANK YOU FOR READING, KUDOS AND COMMENTS ARE EXTREMELY APPRECIATED.


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